# 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. - **Patent:** US 12326604 - **Original title:** Integrated circuit packages having electrical and optical connectivity and methods of making the same - **Owner:** Corning - **Granted:** 2025 - **Status:** Active - **Times cited:** 1 - **Field:** consumer_electronics, telecommunications, semiconductors, ai_ml ## What it does 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. ## 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. ## 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. ## Real-world examples 1. High-performance computing modules 2. Data center optical transceivers 3. AI accelerator packages 4. Next-generation network switches ## Why it matters 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. ## 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. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12326604/integrated-circuit-packages-having-electrical-and-optical-connectivity-and-metho **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US12326604 --- _Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._ ## Related patents Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus: - [Stacking Chips with Light-Guiding Plastic Wires](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12181722/structures-and-process-flow-for-integrated-photonic-electric-ic-package-by-using) — TSMC's patent describes a method for building advanced chip packages that combine electrical and light-based circuits using polymer waveguides and an integrated fan-out redistribution layer for faster communication. - [How to Embed Tiny Optical Components Directly into Circuit Boards](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE50510/gemini-bard) — A design for embedding light-emitting components and light-guiding paths directly into the layers of a circuit board to make devices smaller and more efficient. - [Attaching Flexible Circuits with Light Sensors to a Chip](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9055681/method-for-attaching-a-flexible-structure-to-a-device-and-a-device-having-a-flex) — This patent describes a method and device for attaching a bendable circuit, which includes light-sensing or light-emitting components, onto a main chip, allowing light to pass through a hole in the chip to reach the flexible part. - [How to Stack Computer Chips on a Wafer for Smaller Devices](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7824959/wafer-level-stack-structure-for-system-in-package-and-method-thereof) — This patent describes a method for stacking two full wafers of computer chips, where the chips on each wafer are roughly the same overall size but have different active areas, to create a compact system-in-package. - [How Chips Are Stacked and Wired in Tiny Phone Parts](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8310051/package-on-package-with-fan-out-wlcsp) — MediaTek's 2012 patent describes a way to stack different types of computer chips, like a processor and memory, very closely together in a single package using special wiring that spreads out connections, saving space in devices like smartphones.