Part of the day: Lasers

Assembled by the nightly build from this catalog’s own entry for Lasers (3.06, Layer 3 — Networking & interconnect). The tables below are rebuilt every night; first published 2026-09-09, refreshed 2026-09-24.

The laser sources — EML, CW/DFB, and VCSEL types — that generate the light signal inside optical transceivers and co-packaged optics.

Lasers are a component inside the optical transceivers of 3.04 and the silicon photonics and co-packaged optics of 3.08, feeding light into the DSPs, drivers, and TIAs of 3.07 for modulation and detection. Different laser types suit different reach and speed combinations, and some transceiver makers source lasers externally while others build a portion in-house. Rising transceiver volume and the move to higher speed grades both increase laser demand and tighten qualification requirements, since a laser has to be re-qualified for each new speed and reach combination. An investor should watch supplier concentration by laser type, since external laser sourcing for co-packaged optics designs in particular depends on a narrower set of qualified vendors than transceiver-embedded lasers do.

AI delta: Rising optical transceiver and co-packaged optics volume from AI clusters increases demand for qualified laser sources across every reach and speed grade.

Who makes it

The full entry — sub-categories, news, videos and sources — lives on the Lasers page.