MicroLEDs could slash data centre energy use
Copper cables, traditionally used for short-distance intra-rack interconnects in data centres, are increasingly facing challenges in both transmission density and energy efficiency.
By comparison, microLED co-packaged optics (CPOs) offer significantly lower energy consumption per bit of data transmission. TrendForce now estimates that the technology could reduce overall power consumption to just 5 percent of that of copper solutions, positioning it as a promising optical interconnect alternative driven by its energy-saving advantages.
TrendForce notes that data transmission speeds below 400 Gbps are already common in CSP-operated data centres. Since 2025, market demand has driven transmission specifications toward 800 Gbps and 1.6 Tbps. However, at these higher speeds, traditional copper cables, which consume over 10 pJ/bit, would substantially raise overall system power consumption, accelerating the industry’s move toward optics replacing copper.
Taking 1.6 Tbps optical communication products as an example, current optical transceiver modules consume around 30W of power. microLED CPO architectures substantially lower energy consumption per transmitted bit, potentially reducing total power consumption by up to nearly 20 times to approximately 1.6W. This significantly improves power efficiency while easing difficulties in regard to thermal management.
NVIDIA has already proposed target specifications for its silicon photonics CPO architecture, including ultra-low energy consumption (less than 1.5 pJ/bit), high integration density (more than 0.5 Tbps/mm2), and high reliability, defined as fewer than 10 failures in time (10 FIT)—equivalent to fewer than one failure per billion operating hours.
Within this context, microLED CPOs demonstrate unique advantages. By integrating sub-50 µm microLED chips with CMOS driver circuits, the architecture can achieve energy consumption of only 1–2 pJ/bit. In scale-up data centre networks, the technology is particularly suited for high-speed, short-distance intra-rack interconnects, making it a compelling optical interconnect solution.
TrendForce also observes that the global supply chain is actively expanding into optical communication and interconnect technologies. Microsoft has introduced its MOSAIC architecture, Credo has strengthened the capabilities of its optical interconnects through the acquisition of Hyperlume, and Avicena has developed LightBundle to improve data transmission efficiency and power performance.
Taiwanese optoelectronics manufacturers possess strong capabilities in microLED fabrication, mature optical design, and light-field control expertise, positioning them well to advance microLED as a key light source in optical communications with both efficiency and cost advantages.
Several examples include AUO integrating microLED resources from Ennostar with optical receiver technologies from Tyntek; Innolux potentially leveraging integration with best Epitaxy to secure microLED supply and gradually build vertically integrated capabilities and competitive barriers; and PlayNitride partnering with Brillink to jointly develop microLED optical interconnect technologies.
