EV Group Advances Co-Packaged Optics Manufacturing with Wafer Bonding and Nanoimprint Lithography

As demand for faster, more energy-efficient AI infrastructure grows, co-packaged optics (CPO) is creating new opportunities for Asia's semiconductor foundries, packaging providers and photonics manufacturers. However, scaling production requires advances in wafer bonding, materials integration and precision manufacturing. Semicon Leaders Asia speaks with Dr Bernd Dielacher, Director of Business Development at EV Group (EVG), about the company's CPO manufacturing technologies, the role of hybrid bonding and nanoimprint lithography, and how next-generation optical I/O chiplets could shape the future of advanced semiconductor packaging in Asia.

Q. What specific customer and market requirements are driving EVG’s increased focus on co-packaged optics, and how does the company’s existing advanced packaging portfolio address the manufacturing challenges of CPO?

As AI systems demand ever-higher bandwidth and lower power consumption, co-packaged optics is emerging as a key technology that relies on the high-density integration of optical and electronic components within a single package. Rather than presenting a completely new manufacturing challenge, CPO builds on many of the advanced packaging technologies already used in semiconductor integration. EVG is well positioned because many of the key manufacturing challenges in CPO are extensions of heterogeneous integration, precision alignment and thin-device handling requirements that the company has been addressing for years, particularly through wafer bonding and thin-wafer processing.  

Q. EVG brings together wafer bonding, nanoimprint lithography and thin-wafer processing for CPO applications. What differentiates this integrated process approach from point solutions available to semiconductor and photonics manufacturers?

What differentiates EVG’s approach is the ability to address multiple critical process steps for CPO within a single technology portfolio, rather than optimising individual processes in isolation. By bringing together wafer bonding, nanoimprint lithography and thin-wafer processing, EVG enables customers to address the full set of integration challenges associated with combining photonic and electronic components at high density and with the scalability required for high-volume manufacturing. This integrated approach helps streamline process development, improve compatibility between process steps and accelerate the path to high-volume production.

Q. How are EVG’s hybrid bonding and fusion bonding technologies enabling the integration of photonic integrated circuits, electronic ICs and materials such as III-V, TFLN and BTO within next-generation CPO packages?

Hybrid bonding and fusion bonding address different but highly complementary requirements in next-generation CPO architectures. Hybrid bonding is particularly well suited for the high-density integration of electronic ICs and photonic ICs, enabling interconnects with ultra-low parasitics to meet the demands of next-generation data rates.  EVG leverages its extensive hybrid bonding expertise and market leadership to support the increasing integration demands of AI-driven optical interconnects.

Fusion bonding, on the other hand, enables the heterogeneous integration of different material platforms that are essential for advanced photonic devices. With decades of experience in wafer bonding, particularly for photonics applications, EVG offers multiple fusion-bonding approaches, including plasma-activated fusion bonding and ComBond® technology for oxide-free interfaces. These solutions support the integration of materials such as III-V semiconductors, TFLN and BTO.

Q. What role does nanoimprint lithography play in EVG’s CPO offering, particularly for manufacturing grating couplers and other optical structures at the scale and consistency required for AI and hyperscale data-centre applications?

EVG’s nanoimprint lithography (NIL) production equipment enables the highly repeatable replication of micro- and nanoscale optical structures across large substrates and at high production volumes. Unlike conventional lithography approaches, NIL can create complex three-dimensional optical features, providing greater design flexibility for grating couplers and other photonic structures while maintaining the consistency required for AI and hyperscale data-centre applications.

Q. EVG’s NILPhotonics® Competence Centre and Heterogeneous Integration Competence Center™ allow customers to validate processes before high-volume manufacturing. How important are these facilities in reducing development risk and accelerating CPO product qualification and commercialisation?

For many customers, the biggest challenge is not proving a technology concept but proving that it can be manufactured reliably at scale. These facilities play an important role in bridging the gap between process development and manufacturing readiness. By giving customers access to proven development environments for photonics and heterogeneous integration, EVG enables early evaluation of process integration, manufacturability and performance under production-relevant conditions, thereby reducing development risk.

Q. As the industry moves from CPO towards optical I/O chiplets and tighter 3D photonic-electronic integration, how is EVG evolving its process technologies and product roadmap to support these next-generation architectures?

The move towards optical I/O chiplets and tighter 3D photonic-electronic integration is fundamentally a heterogeneous integration challenge, which aligns closely with EVG’s core technology strengths. EVG continues to advance its portfolio in hybrid bonding, fusion bonding and nanoimprint lithography to support higher integration densities, new material platforms and increasingly complex photonic-electronic architectures. Building on its long-standing expertise in wafer bonding and heterogeneous integration, EVG is well positioned to support the industry's roadmap from CPO towards future optical I/O and 3D integrated photonics platforms.