How Chips Get Both Light and Electricity on a Special Glass Base
This patent describes a way to build computer chip packages using a special glass base that can carry both electrical signals and light signals, making chips faster and more efficient.
Original patent title: “Integrated circuit packages having electrical and optical connectivity and methods of making the same”
This patent describes a way to build computer chip packages using a special glass base that can carry both electrical signals and light signals, making chips faster and more efficient. Granted to Corning in 2025 with 25 claims and 1 forward citation, and it is expected to expire in 2044.
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
The patent describes an integrated circuit package that uses a glass substrate, which includes a glass core layer and a glass cladding layer, with one or more cavities (ClaimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → 1). An integrated circuit chip is positioned in these cavities (Claim 1). This chip is connected electrically through "redistribution layers" and optically through an "optical channel" (Claim 1). The optical channel can include a glass waveguide embedded within the glass, which guides light signals (Claim 5). For example, a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chip, which uses light, can be placed in a cavity and communicate optically with the glass waveguide, while also connecting electrically to other parts of the package via the redistribution layers.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Integrated circuit packages that only use electrical connections and do not include an optical channel for light signals.
- Packages where the integrated circuit chip is not positioned within a cavity formed in the glass substrate.
- Packages that use substrates made from materials other than glass, such as silicon wafers or organic laminates.
- Optical connections that do not involve a glass waveguide embedded within the optical channel of the glass substrate.
- Integrated circuit packages where the optical channel is not structurally part of the glass substrate itself.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
Key facts
What made this novel
The innovation lies in using a glass substrate that is specifically engineered to simultaneously provide both precise electrical routing via redistribution layers and efficient optical signal transmission via embedded glass waveguides, all within a compact package. This allows for a direct, high-bandwidth connection between electrical and optical components.
The Patent Drawing
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
High-performance computing modules
Data center optical transceivers
AI accelerator packages
Next-generation network switches
Why it matters
The bigger picture
As data speeds increase, traditional electrical connections face limitations in bandwidth and power consumption. This patent addresses the need for high-speed, high-bandwidth communication within and between chips by integrating optical pathways directly into the chip package. This approach can lead to more compact, energy-efficient, and faster computing systems, especially for demanding applications like data centers and high-performance computing.
Filed
June 7, 2024
Granted
June 10, 2025
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Corning Inc., the assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →, is a leader in specialty glass and optical fiber technologies, making them a key player in this space. Other companies in high-performance computing, data center infrastructure, and advanced semiconductor packaging, such as Intel, Broadcom, and NVIDIA, are actively researching and developing integrated optical interconnect solutions for their chips and modules to overcome bandwidth and power limitations.
Market impact
This technology aims to enable a new generation of high-bandwidth, low-latency chip-to-chip and intra-chip communication. It could significantly impact the design of future data centers, AI accelerators, and telecommunication equipment by overcoming the bandwidth and power limitations of purely electrical interconnects. This could potentially create a new market for glass-based advanced packaging solutions, driving innovation in high-performance computing.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
The patent describes an integrated circuit package that uses a glass substrate, which includes a glass core layer and a glass cladding layer, with one or more cavities (Claim 1). An integrated circuit chip is positioned in these cavities (Claim 1). This chip is connected electrically through "redistribution layers" and optically through an "optical channel" (Claim 1). The optical channel can include a glass waveguide embedded within the glass, which guides light signals (Claim 5). For example, a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chip, which uses light, can be placed in a cavity and communicate optically with the glass waveguide, while also connecting electrically to other parts of the package via the redistribution layers.
The clever bit
The innovation lies in using a glass substrate that is specifically engineered to simultaneously provide both precise electrical routing via redistribution layers and efficient optical signal transmission via embedded glass waveguides, all within a compact package. This allows for a direct, high-bandwidth connection between electrical and optical components.
What it does not cover
- Integrated circuit packages that only use electrical connections and do not include an optical channel for light signals.
- Packages where the integrated circuit chip is not positioned within a cavity formed in the glass substrate.
- Packages that use substrates made from materials other than glass, such as silicon wafers or organic laminates.
- Optical connections that do not involve a glass waveguide embedded within the optical channel of the glass substrate.
- Integrated circuit packages where the optical channel is not structurally part of the glass substrate itself.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
Patent enters public domain
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Moderate
Citation count
6/40
Early citations
Claim breadth
17/20
Very broad protection
Recency
20/20
Granted within 5 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$88K – $281K
Midpoint $176K · 17.9 yr remaining · industry ×1.5
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
Claim text not yet imported for this patent
The original legal language
Original claims
25 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Zakharian, A. R., Kim, J. S., & Brusberg, L. M. O. (2025). How Chips Get Both Light and Electricity on a Special Glass Base (U.S. Patent No. 12,326,604). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12326604/integrated-circuit-packages-having-electrical-and-optical-connectivity-and-metho
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Chips Get Both Light and Electricity on a Special Glass Base cover?
This patent describes a way to build computer chip packages using a special glass base that can carry both electrical signals and light signals, making chips faster and more efficient.
Who owns patent US 12326604?
Corning owns this patent, granted in 2025.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on June 7, 2044, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 12326604 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 1 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
As data speeds increase, traditional electrical connections face limitations in bandwidth and power consumption. This patent addresses the need for high-speed, high-bandwidth communication within and between chips by integrating optical pathways directly into the chip package. This approach can lead to more compact, energy-efficient, and faster computing systems, especially for demanding applications like data centers and high-performance computing.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Integrated circuit packages that only use electrical connections and do not include an optical channel for light signals.
Patent monitoring