Corning Unveils "Glass Bridge" Glass-Based Optical Interconnect for Co-Packaged Optics
On June 24, 2026, fiber optic giant Corning introduced its next-generation "Glass Bridge" glass-based optical interconnect component at the AI Data Center Optical Communication and Interconnect Technology Conference in Seoul. The product targets the co-packaged optics (CPO) and glass substrate markets .
Technical Innovation:
The Glass Bridge is a glass-based optical connector that uses waveguides formed within the glass to transmit optical signals .
It aims to directly connect photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and optical fibers, addressing the significant size mismatch between on-chip optical waveguides (hundreds of nanometers) and fiber cores (several micrometers) .
Manufactured using wafer-based ion-exchange waveguide technology .
Performance Goals:
Supports photonic chips with a pitch of 30 micrometers or greater .
Aims to reduce coupling loss between fiber and photonic chip to below 2dB .
Eliminates the need for traditional pluggable optical modules or long fiber array units .
The company also showcased a new CPO architecture combining glass substrates with optical interconnects, featuring glass waveguides formed on a glass substrate with through-glass vias (TGV) .
