About Silicon Line
Munich, Germany-based Silicon Line is the global leader in innovative ultra-low-power optical link technology enabling thin, light-weight, long and ultra-high speed active optical cables for a wide array of consumer electronics products – including TV’s, video game consoles, computers, virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR), and related devices – as well as industrial applications. ‘Active’ refers to powered electronics integrated within the cable.
Clear evidence of Silicon Line’s global leadership in ultra-lower-power optical technology can be seen not only by its steadily evolving line of leading-edge and industry-first products – with more than 25 different products now in use – but also in its pivotal role within the HDMI Forum, where it has successfully led efforts to enhance support for active optical cable technology standards in the latest specification, HDMI 2.1.
Founded in 2005 as an outsourced integrated circuit (IC) design house, Silicon Line quickly developed proven expertise in ultra-low-power, analog and mixed-signal chip design. Billions of IC’s based on its designs have been used in the products of major brand manufacturers.
Building on its core competencies, Silicon Line soon began to develop its own products with the aim of providing the world’s most power-efficient and best-in-class IC’s for optical data transport, specifically targeting applications in consumer electronics. Silicon Line now has a wide portfolio of physical layer ICs plus associated serializer/deserializer (SerDes) IC’s for multi-gigabit optical links, and it holds multiple patents associated with these products. In addition to HDMI technology, Silicon Line technology is employed in optical links for devices using DisplayPort and USB 3.2 connections.
As the latest marker representing a significant new phase in its development, Silicon Line has developed proprietary technology and manufacturing methods for optical modules (the tiny circuit boards inside cable connectors), thereby significantly reducing production costs and making optical cables affordable to consumers for 4K/8K TV’s, game consoles, AR/VR headsets and other very high bandwidth applications.
Ultra-Low Power Consumption
Our patented technology enables highly energy efficient cables and systems.
Small Form
Factor
Miniaturized optical engine and module design suitable for ultra-slim connectors.
Cost
Efficiency
Highly efficient assembly method makes the cable cost reach the consumer’s level.
Optical Interconnect Technology
The importance of optical link technology to the future of consumer and business electronics truly cannot be overstated. The optical interconnect market, by some estimates, will reach $7 billion by 2021. As bandwidth demands grow, it will be impractical if not impossible for copper cabling to meet signal transport requirements, especially for distances greater than even one meter.
The proliferation of battery-powered devices – phones, tablets, AR/VR headsets – puts a premium on small, lightweight interconnects which minimize power consumption and also minimize susceptibility to and sources of electromagnetic interference (EMI). Additionally, specialized camera applications in healthcare, scientific research, national defense and other areas – as well as weight and size considerations in products such as automobiles and aircraft, where weight savings alone provides a recurring benefit in reduced fuel costs or increased payload capacity – are driving adoption across an expanding spectrum of industries and applications.
Long, low-power, flexible and lightweight active optical cables are already beginning to replace copper cables in many high-speed applications. Silicon Line is playing a key role in the transition to optical cables by making available both ICs and modules which allow rapid, low-cost, high volume manufacture of active optical cables.
In the process, the company has been first-to-market with several products
- Optical HDMI interface (up to 48 Gb/s)
- Optical DisplayPort interface (40 Gb/s)
- Optical MIPI D-PHY interface (CSI-2, DSI) for cameras systems
- Optical USB 3.2 interface (10 Gb/s)
- Optical interface for general purpose (up to 64 Gb/s)
We are the first with 48 Gb/s HDMI 2.1 modules which enables active cable certification under the Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable Certification Program in 2020.
Silicon Line is privately held and employs more than 40 people. In addition to its Munich headquarters, it operates an optical subassembly (OSA) factory in Hasselt, Belgium, and maintains offices in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United States.