Foreign Media: Supply Chain Tensions Arise from Restrictions on Photonics Materials for AI Data Centers
Since China tightened export licensing for indium phosphide (InP) starting February 2025, this critical photonics material has become an "invisible bottleneck" hindering the global expansion of AI data centers. Indium phosphide is widely used in high-speed optical chips, enabling data transmission via fiber optics instead of copper wires, and is one of the core materials for next-generation AI computing infrastructure.
Constrained by approval delays and quota limitations, U.S. chip company Coherent publicly warned of supply shortages in May. Although Lumentum has scaled its production several times over, capacity remains booked through 2028. Industry data shows that the price of 6-inch InP wafers has surged by approximately 250%, reaching around $5,000.
Currently, about 80% of global production capacity is concentrated in the United States (AXT) and Japan (Sumitomo Electric), with China still serving as a key intermediate supply hub. Analysts note that this "material bottleneck" is increasingly seen as a strategic factor affecting the expansion of AI infrastructure.
Meanwhile, U.S. companies such as NVIDIA and Marvell Technology are accelerating investments in alternative photonics technologies, but new capacity additions remain limited in the short term, meaning supply constraints are likely to persist.
Original Article: toutiao.com/article/1867695399268352/
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