Semiconductors, Data Centers & AI

As economies worldwide are growing exponentially, there is increasing pressure on many of the major sectors to keep up with global trends. This article covers the need for new thermal management technologies alongside the growing demand for vehicle electrification high performance computing.

Modern AI and high-performance computing workloads require tremendous amounts of information to be transmitted at enormous speeds between chips, servers, and racks. Traditionally, this has been done with copper wiring over longer distances, but the current generation of architectures has been pushing the physical limits of what copper can achieve, and the industry has been facing a so-called 'interconnect bottleneck'. Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are an emerging class of integrated circuit that seek to break this bottleneck.

IDTechEx's latest report, titled "Silicon Photonics and Photonic Integrated Circuits 2026-2036: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts", offers an in-depth assessment of the latest advancements in PIC technologies. The report comprehensively analyses the key technologies and components including modulators, light sources, waveguides, and material platforms for photonics, as well as assessing the supply chain, market dynamics, and end-use applications.

In this article, IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst Noah El Alami investigates how quantum technologies are driving interest into new material platforms for photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

The emergence of 5G and 6G telecommunications, along with the rise of data center demand and advanced automotive radar systems, is presenting a need for low-loss materials to optimize transmission. This article explores how low-loss materials can prevent transmission losses associated with higher sensitivities and frequencies.

Join IDTechEx Principal Technology Analyst Yu-Han Chang on Thursday 26th March for the expert-led webinar, "AI Chips at the Edge of Success". Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times in one day.

Short-duration battery technologies such as Li-ion and valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries are typically used in data centers as part of uninterruptible power supply systems (UPS). Data center operators also sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) to secure long-term, stable renewable energy at fixed prices, shielding them from price volatility. However, key shifts in both the energy storage technologies adopted and the long-term methods for power procurement for data centers may evolve over time. This article from IDTechEx covers shifts in the technologies adopted and business strategies data center operators may embrace over the coming years.

A complimentary collection of insights written by IDTechEx industry experts, covering key technology innovation trends shaping the next decade.

IDTechEx analyst Dr Yu-Han Chang covers the progress and adoption of optical transceivers in high-end data centers.

Co-packaged optics (CPO) is gaining significant attention as the next architecture for next-generation switching. The shift toward co-packaged optics is also reshaping competitive positioning among semiconductor vendors. This article examines the differing approaches of NVIDIA and Broadcom, with further detail available in IDTechEx's latest report, "Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) 2026-2036: Technologies, Market, and Forecasts".