Silicon photonics (SiPh) and common packaged optics (CPO) are quickly moving from research and early pilots into a real, buildable supply chain this year—an important milestone as data centers and AI infrastructure demand faster links with less power. Japanese semiconductor test equipment maker Advantest notes that optical communications bring clear benefits, especially better energy efficiency and higher transmission capacity than traditional electrical interconnects. But turning those advantages into mainstream deployment won’t happen automatically.
According to Advantest, the industry is running into three major standardization challenges that must be solved to make “shift-left” testing practical and to help SiPh and CPO scale smoothly across vendors. Shift-left testing—bringing more validation and quality checks earlier in the design and manufacturing flow—can reduce costly late-stage failures. However, for optics-based interconnects, that approach depends heavily on shared standards so components, tools, and processes work reliably together.
The first challenge is aligning measurement methods and test specifications. Optical modules and photonic devices require different test coverage than purely electronic chips, and inconsistent measurement approaches can lead to mismatched results across labs, factories, and suppliers. Standardized test procedures help ensure that performance claims (such as bandwidth, insertion loss, or power efficiency) can be verified consistently, no matter where a device is built or tested.
The second challenge involves defining common interfaces and packaging expectations as CPO adoption grows. With optics moving closer to compute—often integrated around switches, accelerators, or other high-speed silicon—interoperability becomes more complicated. Without clear standards for how packaged optics should connect, be calibrated, and be validated, system builders face higher integration risk, longer qualification cycles, and increased cost.
The third challenge is creating standardized approaches that support earlier-stage testing across the supply chain. As SiPh and CPO ecosystems form, multiple parties—foundries, OSATs, module makers, and test equipment vendors—need compatible ways to screen and characterize parts earlier. If early testing can’t be done in a consistent, comparable way, issues may only surface late in system integration, undermining the promise of shift-left testing and slowing overall adoption.
Advantest’s view highlights a key reality for next-generation optical interconnects: performance alone isn’t enough. The path to large-scale deployment depends on the less glamorous work of standardization—test definitions, interface agreements, and shared qualification practices. As SiPh and CPO supply chains emerge this year, solving these standardization gaps will be essential to delivering the energy-efficient, high-throughput optical communications that modern AI and cloud data centers increasingly require.
