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Electronics · Recorded milestone

Silicon photonics

Recorded year2007

Luxtera ships the first optical transceivers made in a chip fab, putting optical circuits on silicon alongside electronics.

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Built on

Integrated circuitRecorded · 1958enables
MOSFETRecorded · 1959requires
LaserRecorded · 1960enables
Low-loss optical fibreRecorded · 1970enables

Led to

Co-packaged photonicsRecorded · 2025enables
Solid-state lidarForecast · ~2027enables
Photonic AI acceleratorsForecast · ~2030enables
Portable optical clocksForecast · ~2032enables
Quantum internet backboneForecast · ~2042enables
Quantum navigation in phonesForecast · ~2050enables

Sources & evidence

Additional source

Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.