# From Apple to OpenLight: Silicon Photonics and Integrated Lasers with Dr. Tom Mader

- Show: [Moore's Lobby](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby)
- Published: 2023-04-18
- Length: 41m
- Episode: 4
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made
- Listen: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/podcast/from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-mader

## Summary

Dr. Tom Mader, COO of OpenLight, discusses his career path from internships at Apple and Hughes to founding the Light Peak project at Intel, which evolved into the Thunderbolt interface. He explains OpenLight's business model as an Arm-like IP provider for silicon photonics, offering a Process Design Kit (PDK) that integrates InP lasers and amplifiers onto silicon wafers via molecular bonding. Mader details the technical challenges of designing integrated lasers, the shift from copper to optical interconnects in data centers and LiDAR, and the importance of EDA tools for photonic design.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made#t=0) Introduction and Dr. Gordon Moore Tribute
- [3:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made#t=234) Dr. Tom Mader's Early Career and Internships
- [8:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made#t=531) The Origin of Thunderbolt and Light Peak
- [12:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made#t=743) Amazon Concept Engineering and the Dash Button
- [18:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made#t=1137) OpenLight's Silicon Photonics Platform and PDK
- [24:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made#t=1447) Applications in DataCom, LiDAR, and Compute Interconnect
- [30:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made#t=1839) Designing Lasers: EDA, Testing, and Modulation
- [37:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-04-18-from-apple-to-openlight-silicon-photonics-and-integrated-lasers-with-dr-tom-made#t=2270) Career Advice and Lightning Round

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- OpenLight (company)
- Intel (company)
- Thunderbolt (product)
- Light Peak (product)
- Amazon Dash Button (product)
- Juniper Networks (company)
- Synopsys (company)
- Tower Semiconductor (company)
- Arm (company)
- Silicon Photonics (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Conversation with Ayar Labs CEO Mark Wade on Silicon Photonics, Co-Packaged Optics, and Next-Gen AI Infrastructure](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2026-09-21-conversation-with-ayar-labs-ceo-mark-wade-on-silicon-photonics-co-packaged-optic) (The Circuit)
- [EP 188: The Wild West of Optical, Cisco's AI Hack, and Is Compute an Investable Asset](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2026-08-17-ep-188-the-wild-west-of-optical-ciscos-ai-hack-and-is-compute-an-investable-asse) (The Circuit)
- [S4E28 Kevin Distelhurst | Semiconductors – What They Are & How They’re Manufactured](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-07-28-s4e28-kevin-distelhurst-semiconductors-what-they-are-how-theyre-manufactured) (Being an Engineer)
- [Opto Computing R&D | Broadcom Did What, Now? | Testing Autonomous Vehicles](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-08-16-opto-computing-r-d-broadcom-did-what-now-testing-autonomous-vehicles) (EE Times Current)
- [Discussing Chiplets with Ming Zhang](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-07-05-discussing-chiplets-with-ming-zhang) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

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