TLDR: The rapid adoption of co-packaged optics (CPO) is transforming data centers by significantly reducing power consumption and boosting bandwidth, especially for AI workloads. However, this shift necessitates profound changes in testing methodologies to ensure reliability and performance. New automated, scalable test platforms are emerging to address the unique challenges of integrating photonic and electronic components, with key industry players collaborating to standardize and optimize these crucial technologies.
The landscape of data centers is undergoing a significant transformation driven by the advent of co-packaged optics (CPO), a technology poised to dramatically reduce power consumption for high-speed data transmissions by 70% or more. This innovation involves integrating optical transceivers directly into the same package as networking switches and high-bandwidth memory (HBMs), enabling AI programs that once took a week to complete to now finish in a single day .
However, this paradigm shift brings forth complex testing challenges that demand equally profound changes in current methodologies. Ensuring the reliability and performance of these co-packaged opto-electronic systems is paramount. The industry is now focused on developing automated, scalable test platforms that can provide comprehensive test coverage for both photonic and electronic integrated circuits (ICs) .
One of the critical challenges in CPO testing is managing the extreme temperatures generated by high-performance computing devices like GPUs and AI ASICs, which are expected to consume thousands of watts. Understanding how CPO devices respond in these high-temperature operating environments is crucial for long-term reliability . Furthermore, the development of standardized connector designs is anticipated to lead to higher volume optimized handling and connector alignment solutions .
Co-packaged optics offer three compelling advantages over traditional pluggable optical transceivers: significant power efficiency, unprecedented bandwidth density, and attractive economics, all contributing to a strong return on investment (ROI) for AI-centric data center operators. David Clark, Vice President of Product Marketing at Amkor Technology, emphasized these benefits, stating, ‘CPO technology offers three critical advantages over traditional pluggable optical transceivers — significant power efficiency, unprecedented bandwidth density, and compelling economics — all contributing to a compelling ROI for AI-centric data center operators.’ .
The complexity of CPO technology necessitates extensive collaboration across the supply chain, as no single organization possesses all the required expertise for comprehensive CPO testing . Companies like FormFactor are at the forefront of this evolution, having introduced TRITON, the first production silicon photonics test system designed for high-throughput manufacturing environments. This system, developed in partnership with Advantest and TEL, is set to be available in Q3 2025 .
Beyond testing, the broader adoption of CPO is gaining momentum. TSMC has successfully integrated CPO with advanced semiconductor packaging technologies, with sample deliveries expected in early 2025 and mass production of 1.6T optical transmission offerings projected for the second half of 2025. TSMC, in collaboration with Broadcom, has also successfully trialed a key CPO technology—the micro ring modulator (MRM)—at its 3-nm process node . Nvidia is also a significant player, planning to adopt CPO technology for its GB300 chips, slated for release in the second half of 2025, and subsequently for its Rubin architecture .
The integration of optics and electronics within a single package significantly shortens electrical link lengths, enhancing a chip’s interconnect bandwidth and energy efficiency. Optical links offer superior performance over traditional electrical transmission, including lower signal degradation, reduced susceptibility to crosstalk, and substantially higher bandwidth, making CPO an ideal fit for data-intensive AI and high-performance computing (HPC) applications . Early implementations of CPO are already demonstrating 30% to 50% reductions in power consumption compared to traditional pluggable optics .
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The market for co-packaged optics is poised for explosive growth, primarily fueled by the demands of artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs) and generative AI. The CPO market is projected to exceed $1.2 billion by 2035, growing at a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 28.9% from 2025 to 2035 . Some forecasts are even more aggressive, with NVIDIA’s silicon photonics CPO driving the market from $46 million in 2024 to an estimated $8.1 billion by 2030, representing a staggering 137% CAGR . This underscores CPO’s role as a critical backbone for scalable AI and cloud infrastructures .
