Alibaba Cloud Begins Batch Deployment of Self-Developed 400G/800G/1.6T Silicon Photonics Chips

At the Photonics & Electrical Fusion Technology and Industry Development Forum held during CIOE 2026 on September 10, Yin Yanlong, an optical networking expert at Alibaba Cloud, delivered a keynote titled "Evolution Trends of High-Speed High-Density Optical Interconnect in Data Centers." He shared Alibaba Cloud's technical practices and insights on silicon photonics chips, Scale Up optical networks, and NPO, and revealed that the company's self-developed 400G/800G/1.6T silicon photonics chips have entered batch deployment.

In his speech, Yin noted that silicon photonics is increasingly replacing traditional EML technology, especially in high-end products such as 800G and 1.6T, where its adoption rate has grown significantly. He described photonics-electric fusion as a key breakthrough direction in the post-Moore era, driving a new architectural evolution in the optical communications industry.