Societe Generale Securities: Downstream production expansion accelerates superposition technology and iterative traction optical module equipment ushered in an inflection point in growth

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Societe Generale Securities released a research report saying that the 800G and above rate scenarios face laser chip rate bottlenecks and cost disadvantages, spurring the accelerated penetration of new technologies such as silicon light, CPO, and LPO. The optical coupling process is the most complex. The testing process runs through the entire process of R&D, mass production and reliability verification, and optical coupling equipment is the most valuable part. The optical module industry chain may be at an inflection point in a new round of accelerated technology iteration. The bank suggests focusing on breakthroughs opportunities for domestic equipment manufacturers in customer introduction and high-end technology upgrades.

Societe Generale Securities's main views are as follows:

An optical module is a core component that enables mutual conversion of optical signals and electrical signals in optical communication

The rapid development of AI computing power has led to an explosion in demand for optical modules. Currently, the 800G module has entered the large-scale delivery stage, the 1.6T optical module product has entered testing and verification by leading cloud vendors, and the 3.2T technology path has entered the pre-development stage. With the large-scale construction of data centers and AI computing power infrastructure, traditional technology mainly uses multi-channel solutions to increase the speed of optical modules above 100G. In 800G and above rate scenarios, laser chip speed bottlenecks and cost disadvantages have spawned the accelerated penetration of new technologies such as silicon light, CPO, and LPO.

Optical module manufacturing mainly includes many key aspects such as patching, wire bonding, optical coupling, packaging and aging testing, etc., and the requirements for equipment accuracy and automation continue to improve

Among them, the optical coupling process is the most complex, and the testing process runs through the entire process of R&D, mass production and reliability verification. Optical coupling devices are the most valuable part. According to Sihan Industrial Research Institute, every 1 million 800G optical module equipment invests about 500 million yuan, and every 1 million 1.6T module equipment invests about 600 million yuan. Among them, coupling equipment accounts for about 40% of value, patches account for about 20%, instrument tests account for 15%, reliability and aging tests account for 12%, packaging accounts for 12%, and bonding accounts for about 1%.

The II-driven optical module technology iteration process is accelerating, and the demand for test instruments is increasing

Next-generation high-speed optical modules such as 800G and 1.6T have gradually entered the commercial stage, directly driving the iterative upgrading of test instruments in the direction of high speed and high bandwidth, and rapidly increasing the size of the global optical communication testing instrument market. The world leader in electronic measuring instruments is German Technology's 2026Q1 revenue/order/net profit ratio +23.3%/+30.2%/+66.3%. Since 2025Q2, the company's orders have continued to grow month-on-month. Its core driving force is the increase in optical module speed and test complexity brought about by the boom in AI infrastructure.

Risk warning: AI computing power investment falls short of expectations; 800G/1.6T and CPO penetration progress falls short of expectations; increased industry competition and price decline risk