Samsung Electronics is collaborating with Broadcom to develop silicon photonics, a next-generation chipmaking technology that converts data transmission between semiconductors from electrical signals to light. This innovation is expected to boost data processing speeds more than tenfold and is seen as a crucial advancement for future foundry production.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to commercialize silicon photonics for Nvidia’s artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators in the second half of 2025.
Industry sources say Samsung aims to bring the technology to market with Broadcom within two years. While the South Korean tech giant is also in discussions with Nvidia and other companies, its collaboration with Broadcom is progressing the fastest.
“TSMC began research and development on silicon photonics ahead of Samsung,” said an industry official. “However, Broadcom’s proposal for joint development prompted Samsung to respond quickly in early 2024. Right now, the partnership with Broadcom is moving at the fastest pace.”
Samsung plans to accelerate its next-generation foundry development through its collaboration with Broadcom, a major player in wireless and optical communication semiconductors. Broadcom generates about 30% of its revenue from wireless communication chips and around 10% from optical communication chips. The two companies plan to integrate silicon photonics into next-generation application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and optical communication equipment.
As TSMC continues to widen its market share lead, Samsung is focusing on maintaining competitiveness in advanced process technologies. With limited new orders from global tech firms, Samsung has little choice but to invest heavily in its partnership with Broadcom. TSMC has secured major contracts from Apple, Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm, giving it an edge in both advanced chipmaking and next-generation process development.
Samsung, which lost market share to TSMC due to unstable yields in its 3-nanometer (nm) process, is now prioritizing yield stability and performance improvements in its 2nm process. The company also aims to catch up with TSMC in next-generation technologies such as silicon photonics.
“With foundry processes reaching 3nm and below, simply shrinking circuit widths is no longer enough,” an industry source said. “Beyond Gate-All-Around (GAA) and Back-Side Power Delivery Network (BSPDN) technologies, commercializing silicon photonics will be crucial for enhancing power efficiency and signal processing speeds to support AI applications. This will determine the success or failure of future foundry businesses.”
However, Samsung remains one to two years behind TSMC in silicon photonics commercialization. TSMC plans to complete its silicon photonics production line in Taiwan by June 2025 and integrate the technology into Nvidia’s AI accelerators by early 2026. Nvidia previously indicated at the 2024 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) that it expects TSMC’s silicon photonics technology to become commercially available.
