UHP lasers for co-packaged optics by Lumentum: status and timeline

UHP lasers for co-packaged optics

Be the main light source as AI networks move optics into the switch and GPU package, which cuts the power spent moving data by replacing plug-in modules.

DeployStage 4 of 5

Shipping in rising volume; about $50M a quarter expected by end-2026, big customer rollouts in 2028.

Updated 11 Aug 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Meaningful CPO laser revenue (about $50M a quarter)

Lasers chosen for NVIDIA Spectrum-X and Quantum-X PhotonicsMar 2025Complete.
NVIDIA invests $2B with multibillion purchase commitment2 Mar 2026Complete.
800 mW super-high-power laser shown at OFC17 Mar 2026Complete.
Greensboro InP fab announced26 Mar 2026Complete.
Meaningful CPO laser revenue (about $50M a quarter)Target Q4 2026Current milestone.
Greensboro fab production rampTarget 2028Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Upcoming

Q4 2026Meaningful CPO laser revenue (about $50M a quarter) (next)
Q1 2027First $100M+ quarter of CPO laser revenue expected (fiscal Q3 2027, Jan–Mar 2027)
2028Greensboro fab production ramp

Current obstacles

Wafer capacityIts InP fabs are fully allocated and it ships behind demand; the new North Carolina fab adds output only from 2028.
Slow customer rampMost CPO switch deployments at scale are expected in 2028, so near-term volumes depend on a few early customers.

Physics limits

Heat kills laser outputSemiconductor lasers lose power and lifetime as they get hotter: output here falls from 350 mW at 50 °C to 235 mW at 70 °C. That is why the laser is kept away from the hot switch chip.
Most electricity becomes heatOnly about a fifth of the electrical power turns into light; the rest is heat that must be removed. Better efficiency comes slowly from material and design improvements.
Splitting light adds lossEvery split, coupler and fiber joint loses some light, so the source must start much brighter than each receiver needs. That caps how many lanes one laser can feed.

How it works

3 parts

Light source

One bright laser outside the chip

Silicon photonics engines next to the switch chip can modulate light but not make it. A separate laser supplies a steady beam through fiber.

Module

Pluggable laser module (ELSFP)

The lasers sit in a front-panel module, away from the hot switch chip. If one fails it is swapped out without replacing the switch.

Sharing

One laser feeds many lanes

High output power lets one laser be split across several optical lanes, so fewer lasers are needed per switch. More power means more sharing.

Spec sheet

Spec	UHP lasers for co-packaged optics
Wavelength	1311 nm^R (reported)
Output power at 50 °C	Up to 350 mW^R (reported)
Output power at 70 °C	235 mW^R (reported)
Power-conversion efficiency	Above 20%^R (reported)
Linewidth	Under 500 kHz^R (reported)
Next-gen SHP laser at 50 °C	Over 800 mW (demo, OFC 2026)^R (reported)
Power per channel, 16-ch source	About 24 dBm into fiber^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Papers & demos

1 item

17 Mar 2026demo
800 mW super-high-power 1310 nm laser and 16-channel external laser source shown at OFC 2026 (opens investor.lumentum.com)More light per laser lets one source feed more optical lanes in co-packaged switches.

Update log

4 updates

About Lumentum

The team behind UHP lasers for co-packaged optics

Lumentum

InP lasers, AI optics, optical switches

Lumentum makes the lasers and optical parts that carry data as light inside and between AI data centers. It grows its own indium phosphide laser chips in wafer fabs and supplies the laser source for NVIDIA's co-packaged optics switches.

Revenue doubled to $1.01B in the June 2026 quarter; fiscal 2026 revenue was $3.01B.
NVIDIA invested $2B in March 2026 and committed to multibillion-dollar laser purchases.
Demand for its laser chips outruns supply; a new fab in North Carolina should ramp in 2028.

lumentum.com (opens lumentum.com)Company profile →

Founded: 201511 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Public
Listed: LITE (opens google.com)NASDAQ
Valuation: public
Staff: ~10,562Jan 2025
Works in: ComputingPhotonics & interconnect
Coverage: 1 program · 4 updateslatest 11 Aug 2026checked 11 Oct
Partners: Qorvo (opens investor.lumentum.com)
Investors: NVIDIA (opens investor.lumentum.com)
Suppliers: AXT (opens semiconductor-today.com)
People: Michael Hurlston (opens en.wikipedia.org)President & CEOPenelope Herscher (opens en.wikipedia.org)Chair of the Board

Spec

UHP lasers for co-packaged optics

Wavelength

1311 nm^R (reported)

Output power at 50 °C

Up to 350 mW^R (reported)

Output power at 70 °C

235 mW^R (reported)

Power-conversion efficiency

Above 20%^R (reported)

Linewidth

Under 500 kHz^R (reported)

Next-gen SHP laser at 50 °C

Over 800 mW (demo, OFC 2026)^R (reported)

Power per channel, 16-ch source

About 24 dBm into fiber^R (reported)

UHP lasers for co-packaged optics

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

One bright laser outside the chip

Pluggable laser module (ELSFP)

One laser feeds many lanes

Spec sheet

Papers & demos

Update log

Tue 11 Aug

Thu 26 Mar

Mon 2 Mar

Tue 1 Apr 2025

About Lumentum

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

One bright laser outside the chip

Pluggable laser module (ELSFP)

One laser feeds many lanes

Spec sheet

Papers & demos

Update log

Tue 11 Aug

Thu 26 Mar

Mon 2 Mar

Tue 1 Apr 2025

About Lumentum