izmo Microsystems and IIT Madras launch ₹99.94 crore photonics program

izmo Microsystems has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) to launch Phase II of the Centre for Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (CPPICS). This five-year initiative, titled the Silicon Photonics Enabled Cutting-edge Technology Research and Applications (SPECTRA) program, has been sanctioned by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The project has a total outlay of ₹99.94 crore, which includes a ₹97.54 crore contribution from MeitY and a ₹2.40 crore commitment from izmo Microsystems. The program aims to transition silicon photonics technologies from research to commercial products, focusing on photonic integrated circuit design, fabrication, advanced packaging, and system integration.

The initiative targets critical infrastructure needs for AI and high-performance computing, specifically addressing the demand for higher bandwidth, lower power consumption, and reduced latency in data-center networks through 800G and 1.6T optical interconnects.