IQE agrees supply of quantum dot laser epiwafers for AI connectivity applications

IQE — Cardiff — 3 September 2026

IQE has announced a purchase agreement with the US company Quintessent for six-inch gallium arsenide epiwafers, supplied through IQE's foundry-ready service and used for quantum dot laser epitaxy.

The materials are intended to support Quintessent's customer sampling as it develops optical connectivity technology for AI data centres.

The relevance is in optical interconnect. As AI systems scale, the electrical links between processors, memory and switches become a limiting factor in bandwidth and power, and optical interconnect moves that traffic onto light. Quantum dot lasers are of interest because of their temperature stability, which matters in a data centre environment. The wafers themselves are compound semiconductor material rather than silicon, which is where UK epitaxy capability contributes.

Details are as announced by IQE.