The world’s first industrial-scale 6-inch (150mm) Indium Phosphide (InP) photonic chip foundry has officially broken ground in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. This pilot line is designed to bridge the gap between R&D and commercial mass production, targeting the cost reduction barrier that has limited InP adoption.

As a III-V compound semiconductor, InP offers superior bandgap, efficiency, and thermal conductivity, making it critical for optical communications, quantum dot displays, and space PV. Moving to 6-inch wafers significantly boosts production efficiency and lowers unit costs. This move follows Coherent’s 2024 announcement that two of its fabs are already 6-inch InP-ready, signaling a tightening competitive landscape.

ICgoodFind : Scaling up InP manufacturing is key to unlocking the next generation of high-speed photonics.