TSMC's COUPE Silicon Photonics Packaging Enters Production as SEMICON Taiwan 2026 Spotlights CPO

When does SEMICON Taiwan 2026 open, and why is this year considered the breakout point for silicon photonics?

SEMICON Taiwan 2026 opens on September 2, 2026, with pre-show technical forums already underwayCITE:E1. SEMI describes this year as the key inflection point for silicon photonics moving from prototype toward scaled deploymentCITE:E2.

How far along are TSMC's COUPE and COUPE-on-substrate CPO solutions, and what is NVIDIA's role?

TSMC has built its silicon photonics and CPO roadmap around the Compact Universal Photonic Engine (COUPE) and a COUPE-on-substrate CPO packaging solution, with related CPO products already entering production this yearCITE:E3CITE:E13. NVIDIA has partnered with TSMC to develop the COUPE silicon photonics packaging platform and has begun shipping a new generation of Spectrum-X switches that use CPO technology, with capacity expansion planned for the second half of the yearCITE:E4CITE:E14.

What is the timeline for TSMC's CoPoS advanced packaging platform?

TSMC is separately advancing a CoPoS advanced-packaging platform targeting pilot production in 2027 and mass production in the second half of 2028CITE:E17. Industry sources say the effort is initially focused on a 310mm x 310mm substrate sizeCITE:E17, and TSMC itself has said the underlying manufacturing process needs roughly one year to mature before entering mass productionCITE:E18.

Beyond TSMC, where do Broadcom, Foxconn, and Xingxin-KY stand on CPO switches?

TrendForce says CPO has entered a mass-production phase now that Broadcom is shipping its 51.2T Bailly CPO switch in small volumesCITE:E5. Foxconn (鴻海) says its CPO switches are scheduled to ship gradually in the third quarter, and its subsidiary Foxconn Industrial Internet (工業富聯) has already shipped CPO optical-electrical switch samples in the first half of the year, with production to follow across multiple plants and 2027 CPO demand expected to increase notably versus this yearCITE:E8. Xingxin-KY (訊芯-KY) says it holds core CPO advanced-packaging technology and already has 51.2T and 102.4T CPO production capabilityCITE:E9.

How are UMC, GlobalWafers, Largan, MA-tek, and ASE Technology building out the silicon photonics and CPO supply chain?

UMC, GlobalWafers, Largan, MA-tek, and ASE Technology are each advancing distinct steps of the silicon photonics and CPO supply chain. UMC announced on July 15 a partnership with Singapore-based SILITH, under which UMC's Singapore fab completed its first batch of volume-production silicon photonics wafer deliveries, which the company frames as a milestone toward large-scale next-generation silicon photonics manufacturingCITE:E6. GlobalWafers says some of its silicon photonics products began volume production in the first quarterCITE:E7. Powertech Technology (力成) is partnering with Broadcom to enter optical communications, planning small-volume production of bump-packaged optical engine components by the end of this year, with integration into CPO switches planned for next yearCITE:E10. Largan Precision (大立光) plans to set up its first automated CPO pilot line by September, has secured its first volume-production order for fiber array (FA) components, expects pilot production by the end of the third quarter, and is targeting mass production as early as mid-2027 while running proof-of-concept work with multiple customersCITE:E11. Testing house MA-tek (閎康) installed advanced test equipment for silicon photonics and CPO at its Taiwan lab in July, with a second unit expected by the end of November and a third unit planned for early February next yearCITE:E12. ASE Technology's (日月光投控) subsidiaries USI (環旭電子) and Guang Chuang Lian (光創聯) are building CPO key components and solutions, and ASE Semiconductor's VIPack advanced packaging platform also covers co-packaged optical element designCITE:E15.

What are Powertech, Innolux, and ASE Technology investing in FOPLP, and how fast is that market expected to grow?

Powertech, Innolux, and ASE Technology are each expanding fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) capacity as the panel-level packaging market is projected to grow at more than 45% annually through 2031CITE:E16. Powertech Technology built its first FOPLP pilot line in 2016 and now has a completed automated production line; market information indicates AMD and Broadcom have already booked its capacity, with mass production planned for mid-2027 at panel sizes up to 510mm x 515mmCITE:E19. Innolux (群創) converted a panel production line into an FOPLP packaging line, passed customer certification and began shipping in the second quarter of 2025, and says its monthly shipment volume this March grew tenfold versus 2025, with an initial focus on chip-first technologyCITE:E20. ASE Technology Holding is investing $200 million to build a large-size FOPLP line in Kaohsiung, with gradual introduction planned for the first quarter of 2027; its ASE Semiconductor unit already has a FoCoS design architecture, including the fan-out FOCoS-Bridge packaging technology that integrates multiple ASICs and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for custom AI chip advanced packagingCITE:E21. The panel-level packaging market overall is expected to enter its mass-production growth phase between 2029 and 2030CITE:E16.

CPO and FOPLP milestones at a glance

What this means

Taken together, the disclosures line up two different clocks: TSMC's COUPE-based CPO is already in production and shipping via NVIDIA's Spectrum-X switches this year, while TSMC's own CoPoS platform is not due for mass production until the second half of 2028CITE:E17. Meanwhile, component and packaging suppliers — Largan's CPO pilot line, Powertech's AMD- and Broadcom-booked FOPLP capacity, and ASE Technology's Kaohsiung FOPLP investment — are each pointing to overlapping milestones around 2027CITE:E11CITE:E19CITE:E21, ahead of the broader panel-level packaging market's projected 2029-2030 mass-production growth phaseCITE:E16.