COMPANY PROFILE / OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS & PHOTONICS
Coherent
Controlling everything from materials to optical modules, with a 6-inch indium phosphide fab as its weapon
Coherent is a vertically integrated optical components maker: it makes the indium phosphide (InP) lasers and VCSELs that go into optical transceivers in its own wafer fabs, and sells the transceivers built around them, right up to optical circuit switches. Revenue for its fiscal year to June 2026 was US$7,118 million, of which about 74% came from its Datacenter and Communications segment. In March 2026 it received a US$2 billion investment from NVIDIA together with a multi-year purchase agreement, and in June it signed a letter of intent for up to US$50 million in support under the U.S. CHIPS Act. This profile keeps the company-wide figures brief and sets out what Coherent is putting into optical communications and photonics, who it works with and where it is heading, using only its statutory filings with the U.S. SEC and its official releases.
- Coherent in 30 seconds, and where it stands in optical communications and photonics
- The logo and how the name is written
- Where the company sits in optical communications and photonics
- Scale (the company as a whole, briefly)
- Resources committed to optical communications and photonics
- Track record so far
- Plans ahead
- What the company is aiming for in optical communications and photonics
- Partnership map
- Technologies, products and services
- The risks this company carries
- Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit
1. Coherent in 30 seconds, and where it stands in optical communications and photonics
Pennsylvania, U.S.375 Saxonburg Boulevard
US$2 billion7,788,161 shares of common stock, with a multi-year purchase agreement
Texas, U.S.A 6-inch InP wafer fab, due to receive CHIPS Act support
Companies in optical communications and photonics fall into three broad groups: optical components & modules, chips & foundries, and network systems & carriers. Coherent belongs to the first, optical components & modules, and within that group it is among the most deeply vertically integrated Sourced. The 10-K defines the company as "a vertically integrated manufacturing company", and says that for optical transceivers it designs and makes in house the lasers, photodetectors, ICs, passive optics, thermal management parts and photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The most important point is that it produces indium phosphide (InP), the substrate material for telecom lasers, in volume on 6-inch wafers. The company describes its Sherman fab as home to "the world's first and largest volume-production 6-inch InP manufacturing platform" (the company's own claim). The larger the wafer, the more chips each one yields, so the company's position is that this pays off in both supply volume and cost.
2. The logo and how the name is written
The Coherent logo is a trademark of the company. We have not recreated it with generated imagery;
the image is the one shown in the header of the official website and is placed here as img/coherent_logo.svg.
A note on names: the current legal name is Coherent Corp., but until September 2022 the company was called II-VI Incorporated (per the U.S. SEC registration record). On 1 July 2022 II-VI acquired the laser maker Coherent, Inc., and the acquirer then took over the "Coherent" name. As a result, in material dated 2022 or earlier "Coherent" may refer to a different company (the former Coherent, Inc.). That is also why the file names of its SEC filings still begin with "iivi".
Official site: https://www.coherent.com/3. Where the company sits in optical communications and photonics
Looked at by where in the optical landscape it operates, Coherent's Datacenter and Communications segment spans three areas Sourced. Industrial lasers and materials (the Industrial segment) are not optical communications, so we cover them only briefly.
| Area | Main products (as described in the 10-K and official releases) | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Optical interconnect inside the data centre | Optical transceivers (for Ethernet, InfiniBand, NVLink and others), VCSELs, EMLs, CW lasers, photodetectors, CPO and optical circuit switches (OCS) | The fastest-growing area, driven by AI demand |
| Data centre interconnect (DCI) | ZR/ZR+ coherent transceivers and a multi-rail transport platform | "Scale-across" demand for linking several data centres |
| Long-haul and telecom networks | Coherent transmission components, optical amplifiers, pump lasers, passive optical components and optical line systems | For carriers and network equipment makers |
4. Scale (the company as a whole, briefly)
From 1 July 2025 Coherent reorganised its reporting into two segments, Datacenter and Communications and Industrial Sourced. The figures for the former are the closest measure of its size in optical communications and photonics.
| Item (US$ million) | Year to June 2024 | Year to June 2025 | Year to June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (whole company) | 4,708 | 5,810 | 7,118 |
| of which Datacenter and Communications | 2,631 | 3,755 | 5,275 |
| of which Industrial | 2,076 | 2,055 | 1,844 |
| Datacenter and Communications segment profit | 500 | 904 | 1,330 |
| R&D expense (whole company) | 479 | 582 | 723 |
| Capital expenditure (purchases of property, plant and equipment, whole company) | 347 | 441 | 1,103 |
| Net income (loss) attributable to the company | -156 | 49 | 805 |
| Employees (30 June 2026) | Headcount | By region | Headcount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 45,775 | Asia-Pacific | 44,582 |
| Research and development | 3,344 | Americas | 3,719 |
| Sales, general and administrative | 2,359 | Europe | 3,177 |
| Total | 51,478 | - | - |
R&D expense, capital expenditure and headcount are whole-company figures that include industrial lasers and materials Sourced. Only revenue and segment profit are disclosed by segment; R&D spending and headcount for optical communications alone are not published Not yet confirmed. The 10-K does, however, explain that the increase in R&D expense in the year to June 2026 was driven by continued investment in its product portfolios, "particularly within our Datacenter & Communications segment". Note also that revenue growth for the year to June 2026 (23%) reflects the shrinking of the Industrial segment after the sale of the aerospace and defence business (2 September 2025) and of a business in Munich, Germany (30 January 2026).
5. Resources committed to optical communications and photonics
For the four angles this series uses (people; money; outside investments, acquisitions and joint ventures; universities, research institutes and public funding), we separate what could be confirmed from what could not.
| Angle | Details | Category |
|---|---|---|
| People | 3,344 in R&D and 45,775 in manufacturing (whole company, 30 June 2026). Datacenter and Communications headcount is not disclosed. The company expects the Sherman expansion to create more than 1,000 jobs (including more than 550 direct roles) | Company-wide sourced / by segment not disclosed |
| Money (R&D) | US$723 million (whole company). The increase went mainly to the Datacenter and Communications segment, which the company attributes to investment in transceivers, CPO, OCS and multi-rail. Its stated R&D priorities include "400G/lane components supporting 3.2T and 6.4T" and an OCS product family "based on our digital liquid-crystal technology" | Sourced |
| Money (capital expenditure) | US$1,103 million (about 2.5 times the previous year's US$441 million). The 10-K says it is expanding InP capacity in Sherman (U.S.) and in Europe | Sourced |
| Money (outside funding) | NVIDIA bought US$2 billion of common stock (2 March 2026). The company says the money will support R&D, future capacity and expansion of U.S. manufacturing capacity | Sourced |
| InP wafer fabs | 6-inch InP fabs at three sites: Järfälla (Sweden), Sherman (U.S.) and Zurich (Switzerland). Sherman is a company-owned plant of 700,000 sq ft | Sourced |
| Outside investments, acquisitions and JVs | Acquired Coherent, Inc. in July 2022. The 10-K records no equity investments in other companies in optical communications. Separately, Denso and Mitsubishi Electric each invested US$500 million in its silicon carbide (SiC) subsidiary (December 2023, about 12.5% each). That is a power semiconductor materials business, not optical communications | Acquisition sourced / optical stakes and JVs could not be confirmed |
| Public funding | Signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to US$50 million in direct funding under the CHIPS Act (16 June 2026). Before that, about US$20 million of support came from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund and the Sherman Economic Development Corporation | Sourced (CHIPS not yet confirmed) |
| Universities and research institutes | The only link the 10-K describes is an internship and apprentice programme with universities. No joint research with universities in optical communications is mentioned | Could not be confirmed |
In silicon, 300 mm (12-inch) wafers are routine, but InP, the substrate for telecom lasers, is brittle and hard to grow as large single crystals. For a long time 2 to 3 inches was the norm. Going from a 3-inch to a 6-inch diameter makes the area four times larger Our calculation. Running the same process once yields close to four times as many chips, and the share of each wafer lost at the edge also falls.
In its investor presentation Coherent says its 6-inch platform is producing EMLs, CW lasers and photodiodes "with higher yields than 3-inch lines" Sourced. Moving to larger wafers is usually a fight against wafer bow and uneven film thickness across the wafer. That the company nevertheless reports higher yields suggests, in our reading, that reaching a wafer size that automated equipment can handle has made a big difference Not yet confirmed. On the other hand, the 10-K lists InP substrates among the raw materials "sourced from third-party suppliers", so the supply of substrates themselves depends on outside companies.
6. Track record so far
| When | What happened | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2022 | II-VI Incorporated acquired Coherent, Inc.; the company changed its name to Coherent Corp. in September | II-VI's materials and optical components combined with Coherent's industrial lasers |
| 4 December 2023 | Denso and Mitsubishi Electric each invested US$500 million in the SiC subsidiary (Silicon Carbide LLC) | Outside money brought into a business other than optical communications |
| 1 July 2025 | Reporting reorganised into two segments, "Datacenter and Communications" and "Industrial" | Optical communications presented as a pillar in its own right |
| 2 September 2025 | Sold the aerospace and defence business for about US$400 million (gain on sale of US$115 million) | Narrowing the business |
| 30 January 2026 | Sold a business unit in Munich, Germany | Narrowing the business |
| 2 March 2026 | NVIDIA invests US$2 billion (7,788,161 shares of common stock at US$256.80 a share). The multi-year, non-exclusive strategic agreement includes an NVIDIA multi-billion-dollar purchase commitment and future access and capacity rights for advanced laser and optical networking products | The CEO said the company was proud "to expand our 20-year relationship with NVIDIA" |
| 17 March 2026 | At OFC 2026, showed a 6.4T (32×200G) socketed CPO with an external laser source, a multimode CPO using VCSELs and an InP modulator on silicon for 400G per lane | Offering several CPO approaches rather than betting on one |
| 16 June 2026 | Signed a CHIPS Act letter of intent for up to US$50 million. The same day, a groundbreaking ceremony for the Sherman expansion was held with NVIDIA and government officials | Public money looks set to back more U.S. InP production |
| Full year to June 2026 | Revenue of US$7,118 million (up 23%); Datacenter and Communications up 40% to US$5,275 million | Led by transceivers for AI data centres |
| 21 September 2026 | Launched the PhotonLink integrated optics platform, supplying everything from components to assembled and tested optical assemblies for CPO, NPO and chip-to-chip links | From selling parts to selling "the complete optical package" |
7. Plans ahead
more than double again by 2027As stated in the investor presentation. Starting volume not disclosed
4x wafer capacityPlan at completion. Completion date not disclosed
Q4 of 2026Company expectation (calendar year)
According to the PhotonLink release, Coherent has more than ten CPO customer engagements and more than ten NPO engagements, "with anchor customers and long-term agreements secured for both architectures". It also has more than five engagements in chip-to-chip connectivity Sourced. Customer names and contract values have not been published, however.
None of the following appears in the 10-K, the 8-K or the official releases Not yet confirmed.
The final decision on CHIPS Act support (this is a letter of intent, not a formal award) / the total investment and completion date of the Sherman expansion / the absolute volume of internal InP output / the exact amount and term of NVIDIA's purchase commitment / the names of the two large customers that account for 20% and 12% of revenue / PhotonLink's customer names and revenue scale / market share by product. The investor presentation also gives a figure for the "2030 serviceable addressable market (SAM)", but since the company itself notes that it includes third-party estimates, this article does not use it.
8. What the company is aiming for in optical communications and photonics
This section includes things the company does not say directly. We set them out as inferences within what the primary sources support, with the evidence for each.
| What the evidence suggests | Primary information it rests on | Category |
|---|---|---|
| It wants to become a company that sells complete optical packages, not individual parts | In the PhotonLink release the CEO said "Customers need complete optical solutions, not just individual components", and the company announced one-stop supply of external light sources, fibre assemblies and optical modules | Inference |
| It is positioning itself to sell parts whichever CPO approach wins | At OFC 2026 it showed silicon photonics, VCSEL and InP modulator approaches side by side, and the executive in charge said the company would "support our customers with the technologies they choose" | Inference |
| It treats InP laser supply capacity itself as a source of competitiveness | Three 6-inch InP fabs; the plan to "double internal InP output by year-end and more than double again by 2027"; and the 10-K's statement that it is expanding InP capacity "to address our increased customer demand and industry-wide shortage" | Sourced |
| It is putting U.S. manufacturing at the front of its strategy | The stated purpose of NVIDIA's investment includes expanding U.S. manufacturing capacity, and the CHIPS Act support is also for the Sherman expansion | Sourced |
| It is shrinking the Industrial segment and shifting resources to optical communications | It sold the aerospace and defence and Munich businesses, and says the increase in R&D expense went mainly to the Datacenter and Communications segment | Inference |
In CPO and NPO, lasers, silicon photonics chips, micro-optics, fibres and photodetectors have to be aligned to within microns and integrated into a single unit. If each part comes from a different company, it becomes unclear who is responsible for the final optical loss and reliability, and the customer's qualification workload grows. The PhotonLink release names exactly this as a benefit: helping customers "streamline qualification and reduce the complexity of integrating technologies from multiple suppliers" Sourced. Coherent writes that its capabilities span compound semiconductor materials such as InP and GaAs, specialty fibre, and final assembly and test. We read this as a strategy of taking on the whole optical path (generate, shape, guide and receive) within one company, rather than supplying just one of the parts, so that it can keep capturing value even if CPO reduces demand for stand-alone transceivers Not yet confirmed. See also our explainers on co-packaged optics and on optical connectors and fibre packaging.
9. Partnership map
10. Technologies, products and services
We set out the main products of the Datacenter and Communications segment from the 10-K and official releases. For performance figures, we state whether the product is in volume production or on show as a demonstration.
| Category | Product or technology | What it is and its status |
|---|---|---|
| Optical transceivers | 800G/1.6T data centre transceivers | For Ethernet, InfiniBand, NVLink and others. The main driver of revenue growth in the year to June 2026 (in volume production). 400G-per-lane components for 3.2T and 6.4T are in R&D |
| Lasers (InP) | 200G EMLs, differential EMLs (D-EML), high-power CW lasers | 200G EMLs are for 1.6T transceivers; D-EMLs for 400G per lane at 3.2T and beyond; CW lasers, with 400 mW output, for CPO and silicon photonics pluggables (all part of the line-up shown at OFC 2026; production status not disclosed product by product) |
| Lasers (GaAs) | VCSELs and VCSEL arrays | Made in several 6-inch GaAs fabs. Used for short-reach data centre links and 3D sensing in smartphones (in volume production) |
| Photodetectors | 200G and 400G high-speed photodiodes | The company says it has shipped more than one billion InP and GaAs photodetectors in total (shipments are of volume products) |
| CPO and NPO | 6.4T (32×200G) socketed CPO, external laser source (ELS) module, VCSEL-based multimode CPO, InP modulator on silicon for 400G per lane | All demonstrations at OFC 2026. The CPO line-up was brought together as PhotonLink in September 2026 |
| Optical circuit switch (OCS) | OCS based on digital liquid-crystal technology | The 10-K says a product family is being developed for AI and hyperscale data centres. Revenue scale not disclosed |
| DCI and telecom networks | ZR/ZR+ transceivers, multi-rail transport, nITLAs (compact tunable lasers), 800G/1.6T IQ modulators, pump lasers, optical amplifiers | ZR/ZR+ shipments up on rising demand (in volume production). The company claims multi-rail delivers four times the fibre capacity |
| Cumulative shipments | InP lasers | The company says it has shipped more than 300 million InP lasers for the data centre |
An optical circuit switch (OCS) redirects incoming light to a different fibre without converting it back to electricity. Switching mechanisms include MEMS designs that tilt tiny mirrors and designs that use liquid crystal to change the phase or polarisation of light and so bend its path (a general explanation). In its 10-K Coherent states that its OCS is "based on our digital liquid-crystal technology" Sourced.
The advantage usually cited for liquid-crystal designs is that they have no mechanically moving parts. On the other hand, liquid crystals change their response speed and refractive index with temperature, so thermal control and long-term reliability become the materials questions Not yet confirmed. The specific structure, port count and switching time of the OCS are not given in the published material we checked. See also our explainer on optical circuit switches.
11. The risks this company carries
| Risk | Details | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Customer concentration | In the year to June 2026, one customer accounted for 20% of revenue and another for 12%. The 10-K notes that these are mainly Datacenter and Communications customers | Sourced |
| Swelling working capital | Operating cash flow was only US$80 million (US$634 million the year before). The company attributes this to a large build-up of inventory ahead of higher revenue | Sourced |
| Recovering heavy investment | Capital expenditure of US$1,103 million, about 2.5 times the previous year. If demand slows, heavy fixed costs will weigh on profits | Inference |
| Uncertain public funding | CHIPS Act support is at the letter-of-intent stage. The 10-K lists as a risk that it may not receive subsidies or tax credits | Sourced |
| Geographic concentration of production | About 87% of employees are in Asia-Pacific. It has large manufacturing sites in China, Malaysia and Vietnam and could be affected by tariffs and export controls Our calculation | Sourced |
| Equity ties with one customer | NVIDIA has invested through common stock. The agreement is non-exclusive, but it could affect business with other customers | Inference |
| Product mix change driven by CPO | If CPO spreads, demand for pluggable transceivers may fall. Whether PhotonLink can make up the difference is unknown | Inference |
12. Glossary
- Indium phosphide (InP)
- A compound semiconductor used to make lasers and photodetectors for optical communications. It can emit light in the 1.3 to 1.55 µm band.
- EML
- Electro-absorption modulated laser. A laser and modulator on a single chip, used in high-speed optical transceivers.
- CW laser
- A laser that emits light continuously at constant intensity. In CPO and silicon photonics it is used as a light source that is modulated externally.
- VCSEL
- Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. Made on GaAs substrates and used for short-reach multimode optical links and 3D sensing.
- CPO / NPO
- Approaches that place the optical engine inside (CPO) or near (NPO) the switch or GPU package.
- ZR / ZR+
- A family of specifications for coherent pluggable transceivers used to link data centres.
- CHIPS Act
- The U.S. law supporting domestic semiconductor manufacturing (the CHIPS and Science Act). The Department of Commerce awards the grants.
- Letter of intent (LOI)
- A document setting out the broad terms and intentions of the parties before a formal agreement. It does not mean an award or contract is final.
13. References
- Coherent Corp. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026 (filed with the U.S. SEC on 14 August 2026). Business description, revenue and profit by segment, R&D expense and priorities, capital expenditure, headcount, patent count, major customer shares, sites, InP expansion, the NVIDIA agreement, the CHIPS Act, business disposals, investment in the SiC subsidiary and risk factors. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm
- Coherent Corp. Form 8-K (filed with the U.S. SEC on 2 March 2026). Issue of 7,788,161 shares of common stock to NVIDIA (US$256.80 a share, US$2 billion in total). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526084366/d42735d8k.htm
- NVIDIA / Coherent Joint release, "NVIDIA and Coherent Announce Strategic Partnership to Develop Optics Technology to Scale Next-Generation Data Center Architecture" (2 March 2026; Exhibit 99.1 to the 8-K above). The multi-year, non-exclusive agreement, purchase commitment, access and capacity rights, U.S. manufacturing expansion and the 20-year relationship. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526084366/d42735dex991.htm
- Coherent Corp. Results release, "Coherent Corp. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2026 Results" (12 August 2026; Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K). Quarterly revenue, margins and comments from the CEO and CFO. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526346860/d128030dex991.htm
- Coherent Corp. Investor presentation for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (12 August 2026; Exhibit 99.2 to Form 8-K). Plan to double InP output, yields on the 6-inch lines, the CHIPS Act letter of intent and earlier state and city support, and guidance for the first quarter of the year to June 2027. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526346860/d128030dex992.htm
- Coherent Corp. Press release, "Coherent Announces a CHIPS Letter of Intent for $50 Million to Expand World-Leading Manufacturing Facility for AI Infrastructure" (16 June 2026). Scope of the Sherman expansion, expected jobs and earlier state and city support. https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/a-chip-letter-of-intent-for-50m-to-expand-world-leading-manufacturing-facility-for-ai-infrastructure
- Coherent Corp. Press release, "Coherent Demonstrates Multiple Technologies for Co-packaged Optics (CPO) at OFC 2026" (17 March 2026). 6.4T socketed CPO, ELS, VCSEL-based CPO and 400G InP modulator. https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/coherent-co-packaged-optics-cpo-technologies-ofc-2026
- Coherent Corp. Press release, "Coherent Demonstrates InP Technology Innovation with a Broad Range of Products" (17 March 2026). InP line-up (400 mW CW laser, 200G EML, D-EML, photodiodes, nITLA, IQ modulators) and the three 6-inch InP fabs. https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/coherent-demonstrates-inp-technology-innovation
- Coherent Corp. Press release, "Coherent Launches PhotonLink™ Integrated Optics Platform for AI Infrastructure" (21 September 2026). PhotonLink's make-up, the number of CPO, NPO and chip-to-chip engagements, timing of the revenue ramp and cumulative shipments. https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/launches-photonlink-integrated-optics-platform-ai-infrastructure
- U.S. SEC EDGAR company registration record (CIK 0000820318). Former name II-VI INC (until 1 September 2022). https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK0000820318.json
- Coherent Corp. Official website (source of the company name style and the logo image). https://www.coherent.com/
14. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the article | Category | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name, headquarters, listing venue and the company's description of itself as a vertically integrated manufacturing company | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm |
| The former name was II-VI INC and was used until September 2022 | Sourced | Reference 10 https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK0000820318.json |
| Acquisition of Coherent, Inc. on 1 July 2022 | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm |
| Segment reorganisation (1 July 2025), company-wide and segment revenue and segment profit, R&D expense, capital expenditure and net income (years to June 2024 to 2026) | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm |
| Datacenter and Communications accounts for about 74% of company revenue | Our calculation | Calculated in this article from 5,275 / 7,118 in reference 1 |
| 51,478 employees and the breakdown by function and region, and the revenue shares of the two main customers (20% and 12%) | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm |
| About 87% of employees are in Asia-Pacific | Our calculation | Calculated in this article from 44,582 / 51,478 in reference 1 |
| R&D priorities (400G-per-lane components, liquid-crystal OCS, coherent, pump lasers and others) and the increase going mainly to Datacenter and Communications | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm |
| Sale of the aerospace and defence and Munich businesses, Denso's and Mitsubishi Electric's investment in the SiC subsidiary, and the reason for lower operating cash flow | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm |
| Issue of 7,788,161 shares of common stock to NVIDIA (US$256.80 a share, US$2 billion in total) | Sourced | Reference 2 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526084366/d42735d8k.htm |
| The NVIDIA agreement is multi-year and non-exclusive, includes a purchase commitment and access and capacity rights, and the money goes to expanding U.S. manufacturing | Sourced | Reference 3 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526084366/d42735dex991.htm |
| Fourth-quarter revenue of US$2,046 million for the year to June 2026, and the CEO's comments | Sourced | Reference 4 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526346860/d128030dex991.htm |
| Plan to double internal InP output, higher yields on 6-inch lines than on 3-inch lines, and revenue guidance for the first quarter of the year to June 2027 | Sourced | Reference 5 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526346860/d128030dex992.htm |
| CHIPS Act letter of intent for up to US$50 million, scope of the Sherman expansion (double the space, four times the wafer capacity, more than 1,000 jobs) and about US$20 million from the state and city | Sourced | Reference 6 https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/a-chip-letter-of-intent-for-50m-to-expand-world-leading-manufacturing-facility-for-ai-infrastructure |
| The company's claim that Sherman is "the world's first and largest volume-production 6-inch InP manufacturing platform" | Sourced | Reference 6 https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/a-chip-letter-of-intent-for-50m-to-expand-world-leading-manufacturing-facility-for-ai-infrastructure |
| CPO demonstrations at OFC 2026 (6.4T socketed CPO, ELS, VCSEL-based, 400G InP modulator) and the executive's comments | Sourced | Reference 7 https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/coherent-co-packaged-optics-cpo-technologies-ofc-2026 |
| InP line-up (400 mW CW laser, 200G EML, D-EML and others) and the three 6-inch InP fabs | Sourced | Reference 8 https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/coherent-demonstrates-inp-technology-innovation |
| PhotonLink's make-up, more than ten CPO and ten NPO engagements and more than five chip-to-chip engagements, long-term agreements with anchor customers, revenue from Q4 of 2026, and cumulative shipments | Sourced | Reference 9 https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/launches-photonlink-integrated-optics-platform-ai-infrastructure |
| The company's claim that multi-rail transport quadruples fibre capacity, and rising ZR/ZR+ demand | Sourced | References 5 and 1 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526346860/d128030dex992.htm |
| Going from 3 inches to 6 inches quadruples the area | Our calculation | Geometry in this article: the diameter ratio of 2, squared. Not a figure given by the company |
| The three types of company in optical communications and photonics | Our calculation | This article's own classification. Example companies drawn from those covered in this series |
| R&D and headcount for optical communications alone, the final CHIPS Act decision, total investment and completion date of the Sherman expansion, customer names and PhotonLink revenue scale | Not yet confirmed | Not stated in references 1 to 9. Figures from press reports are not used https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm |
| The 2030 SAM in the investor presentation | Not yet confirmed | Not used because the company itself notes that it includes third-party estimates https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000119312526346860/d128030dex992.htm |
| Equity stakes or joint ventures in optical communications, and joint research with universities | Not yet confirmed | Not stated in reference 1. This article does not conclude that they do not exist either https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820318/000082031826000020/iivi-20260630.htm |
| The reading that it aims to sell complete optical packages, and that it is positioning itself to sell whichever CPO approach wins | Inference | This article's interpretation of the announcements and comments in references 7 and 9 |
| The reading that it is shrinking Industrial and shifting resources to optical communications | Inference | This article's interpretation of the disposals and the R&D explanation in reference 1 |
| Why yields rose on 6-inch wafers, and the materials questions for liquid-crystal OCS | Inference | This article's interpretation based on references 1 and 5 and a general explanation of material properties |
| The risks of recovering heavy investment, equity ties with one customer, and a product mix change driven by CPO | Inference | This article's interpretation of references 1 to 3 and 9 |
Last updated 26 September 2026 / Troy Technical
Every figure in this article comes from the statutory filings Coherent Corp. has made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and from the company's official releases. No research-firm estimates or press-based figures have been used. Passages marked "Inference" are this article's interpretation of the primary sources, not statements made by the company.