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IQE and Tower announce multi-year InP epiwafer supply agreement

35 d ago

Suppliers 15 June 2026 – IQE plc, an epiwafer and substrate maker based in Cardiff, Wales, UK, and Tower Semiconductor Ltd, a specialty analog foundry from Migdal Haemek, Israel, have announced a multi-year agreement for the supply of indium phosphide (InP) epiwafers. These epiwafers are intended for optical connectivity solutions that support AI-driven data-center infrastructure. IQE’s InP epiwafers will be integrated into several of Tower’s silicon photonics platforms for next-generation optical technologies, securing a supply base for Tower’s product roadmap. The collaboration includes technology for producing 200Gbs/lane pluggable transceivers and prototyping next-generation 400Gb/lane modulators, along with other critical applications such as optical circuit switches for data-center deployment. The agreement includes a minimum purchase commitment by Tower in the first year, a reciprocal supply commitment from IQE, and minimum volume commitments for subsequent years. Additionally, under a separate arrangement, Tower will grant IQE a broad, worldwide, royalty-free license for porous silicon patents that had been the subject of an IP dispute between the companies, thereby settling all related litigation. “This agreement reinforces IQE’s position within tier-1 global hyperscale cloud and AI infrastructure markets,” said IQE CEO Jutta Meier. “With decades of InP epitaxy expertise and established high-volume manufacturing capability, IQE is primed to support next-generation optical connectivity applications as they scale from innovation to commercial deployment.” Dr Marco Racanelli, president of Tower, added: “We are pleased to partner with IQE as a key supplier for our next-generation photonic technologies that add InP high-performance components to our high-volume, mature, silicon photonics platform. The combination will enable products that can deliver both the performance and high volumes required to scale future AI infrastructure capacity.”