Soitec: Silicon Photonics to Power Next-Gen AI Data Centres

datacentremagazine.com, Dec. 18, 2024 – 

Soitec's René Jonker explains how advanced semiconductor materials and silicon photonics can enable more efficient data centres for AI applications

As data centres continue to confront the mounting demands of AI workloads, Soitec is one such company eager to pioneer breakthrough semiconductor solutions through its Edge & Cloud AI division.

The company is addressing critical challenges in data centre scalability and energy efficiency, which helps to pave the way for next-generation AI applications. These solutions are critical as data centres evolve to meet the complex demands of machine learning and cloud computing.

René Jonker, Executive Vice President for Edge and Cloud AI Division at Soitec, oversees the development of key technologies for IoT applications and Silicon Photonics (SiPh). His team confronts market challenges for Soitec customers and he explains how these technologies will ultimately serve the global data centre industry.

Please introduce yourself and your role at Soitec.

As head of Soitec's Edge & Cloud AI division, I draw on my extensive experience in semiconductor manufacturing and R&D to lead our team in addressing the technical and business challenges of AI technologies.

My career began as a Project Manager and Test Innovation Architect at NXP Semiconductor, and I also had the opportunity to work at Nexperia before I joined Soitec in 2023, leading the Mixed Signals SOI business unit.

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, collaborating with leading companies across three continents, I'm thrilled to lead our division into the next phase of growth in smart and connected devices.

As EVP and GM of the Edge and Cloud AI Division, my team focuses on what system users need and anticipate future challenges. We then look at the materials available to us and incorporate the best ones into engineered substrates. These substrates are then delivered to our customers, which ultimately create the devices that end up in the systems we all use every day.

Tell us about Soitec and the work that it does.

As a world leader in semiconductor materials, Soitec's technologies play a key role in the semiconductor supply chain. Our teams design and manufacture innovative semiconductor materials called substrates, which are then used by our customers to pattern and cut into the chips that make up circuits for electronic components.

We also collaborate with industry partners to create best-in-class solutions for miniaturizing chips, improving their performance and reducing their energy usage.

How does Soitec help to enable data centre industry growth?

Soitec is crucial to enabling the growth of data centres, creating advanced semiconductor materials that improve the performance and scalability of data centre infrastructure.

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