Black Semiconductor: How Graphene Photonics from Aachen Could Change Chip Communication

At a Glance

2020

Black Semiconductor was founded in Aachen and emerged from the environment of AMO GmbH, a research institute with close ties to RWTH Aachen University.

€228.7 million

This is the amount of public funding committed by the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia under the European IPCEI program for microelectronics and communication technologies. North Rhine-Westphalia is contributing €70 million.

€25.7 million

This amount was additionally raised by the company as private equity in 2024.

300 millimeters

FabONE is intended to process wafers of this industrially relevant size and combine electronics with graphene photonics.

2027

According to the timetable published by Black Semiconductor in March 2026, pilot production is scheduled to begin then.

When the performance of modern computers is discussed, attention often focuses on individual processors. How many computing cores does a chip have? How small are its transistors? How many calculations can it perform per second?

For large AI systems, this perspective is no longer sufficient.

Such systems distribute their workloads across numerous processors and accelerators. To turn them into a high-performance overall system, the individual components must continuously exchange large amounts of data. The connection between chips therefore becomes a decisive part of the computing architecture itself.

The key question is no longer simply: How fast can a single chip compute?

It is also: How quickly and efficiently can many chips communicate with one another?

This is precisely where Black Semiconductor comes in. The company wants to transmit some data optically rather than relying exclusively on electrical connections. Light would not perform the computing itself, but support communication between electronic components. For years, scientific review papers have described integrated photonics as a possible route toward high data rates and lower energy requirements for certain types of interconnects.

Graphene Is Not Intended to Replace Silicon

The term “graphene chip” can easily create the wrong impression. Black Semiconductor is not working to replace conventional silicon processors entirely with graphene.

Its approach is complementary.

Silicon-based electronic circuits would continue to perform the computing. Graphene would be used where electrical and optical signals need to be converted into one another. The material consists of a single layer of interconnected carbon atoms and has properties that make it attractive for optoelectronic applications.

According to Black Semiconductor’s concept, graphene is intended to perform two tasks: as a modulator, it transfers electrical information onto a light signal. As a photodetector, it converts the incoming light back into an electrical signal. The light itself is guided through optical waveguides.

The innovation therefore does not lie in a single “miracle material.” It lies in the planned integration of different functions within a shared semiconductor process. Electronics and photonics are intended to work together as closely as possible without requiring completely separate systems.

The Scientific Foundation Already Exists

Graphene photonics did not begin with the construction of FabONE. Research groups have been investigating the material for years for use in optical modulators, detectors and integrated communication systems.

A review published in Nature Reviews Materials in 2018 described, among other things, its potential for high bandwidth density and low energy consumption. At the same time, it identified the real challenge: individual successful components must be turned into reproducible manufacturing processes that work across entire wafers.

A 2023 study involving the Belgian research center imec showed that graphene-based photonic components can, in principle, be integrated into a 300-millimeter CMOS environment. The researchers examined hundreds of graphene modulators per wafer and, after optimizing the process, achieved a high yield.

However, these results do not automatically validate Black Semiconductor’s complete system. Rather, they show that important building blocks of graphene photonics can, in principle, make the transition from small laboratory samples to industrially relevant process environments.

FabONE Is Intended to Enable the Transition
into Manufacturing

In March 2026, Black Semiconductor announced that construction of FabONE had begun. The facility is being built in a former automotive hall in Aachen. According to the company’s timetable at the time, important manufacturing equipment is scheduled to be installed in the second half of 2026. Pilot production is expected to begin in 2027.

Black Semiconductor describes FabONE as the world’s first 300-millimeter semiconductor manufacturing facility specifically dedicated to two-dimensional materials. According to the company, it is also intended to combine electronics and graphene photonics in a single production flow for the first time.

These claims require precise context.

Graphene-based photonic components had already been tested on 300-millimeter platforms before FabONE. The novelty claimed by Black Semiconductor therefore does not lie in processing graphene for the first time on a wafer of this size. According to the company, it lies in building a dedicated facility and in the comprehensive integration of electronic and photonic functions within one manufacturing process.

The official project profile published by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs likewise does not describe the project as an already established mass-production facility. The BRAPHE project is structured as a research and development initiative with a pilot line. Its project period runs from March 2024 to December 2030.

Public Funding and Private Capital

Black Semiconductor has received a public funding commitment of approximately €228.7 million for the project. North Rhine-Westphalia is contributing €70 million of that amount. The funding is being provided under the European IPCEI program for microelectronics and communication technologies, which is intended to support research, industrial development and the establishment of strategic value chains in Europe.

In addition, the company raised approximately €25.7 million in private equity in 2024. Investors included Porsche Ventures, Project A Ventures, Scania Growth Capital and NRW.BANK.

This is why a total figure of €254.4 million is frequently cited. However, it should not be presented as a single private funding round. It consists of the multi-year public funding commitment and private equity.

The scale of the investment illustrates how demanding the transition from research to semiconductor manufacturing can be. A convincing laboratory application is not enough. Cleanrooms, specialized equipment, controlled materials, reproducible process steps and quality assurance capable of supporting very large production volumes are required.

The Decisive Test Is Still Ahead

The physical suitability of graphene for photonic components has been investigated in various research projects. The integration of individual graphene components into CMOS-compatible manufacturing processes has also already been demonstrated.

But the industrial challenge is not yet solved.

The decisive question will be whether Black Semiconductor can operate the planned process permanently and reproducibly. This includes sufficient yield across full wafers, consistent material quality, reliable components, manageable production costs and successful integration into the systems of future customers.

The actual improvements in bandwidth and energy consumption will also need to be demonstrated at the level of complete systems. Publicly available sources currently provide mainly project targets, technical concepts and results for individual components. Independent system-level comparisons for the complete FabONE process are not yet publicly available.

Statements about significantly faster, more energy-efficient or less expensive computing systems should therefore currently be understood as development objectives rather than as conclusively demonstrated product characteristics. Pilot production is intended to generate the data required for a more reliable assessment.

Why the Development in Aachen Is Still Relevant

Black Semiconductor was founded in 2020 from the research environment of AMO GmbH. The company therefore illustrates a challenge faced by many European technology projects: excellent research alone does not automatically create industrial value.

The most difficult stage often lies between a scientific discovery and a market-ready product. Processes must be scaled, facilities must be built, skilled employees must be recruited and first customers must be convinced of the reliability of a new technology.

In Aachen, the attempt is now being made to close precisely this gap.

The relevant innovation therefore lies not only in graphene itself. It also lies in building a structure designed to transfer research into a controlled and industrially compatible process. FabONE brings together materials science, photonics, conventional semiconductor technology and the development of new European manufacturing capabilities.

Whether this will result in an economically successful technology remains open. That uncertainty is precisely what makes the coming phase important.

The first wafers will not only have to demonstrate that the process works technically. They will also have to show whether it can be repeated, scaled and integrated into real computing systems.

Innovation is not defined by how far a promise reaches into the future. It is defined by whether a good idea can become a reliable process.

For Black Semiconductor, that proof is expected to begin in 2027.

Sources: Black Semiconductor: “FabONE construction begins: what we’re building and why” (2026) and “We secured EUR 254.4 million in funding” (2024); German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs: project profile “Establishment of an R&D line for novel photonic technologies (BRAPHE)”; Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia: “Aachen start-up Black Semiconductor receives funding approval” (2024); Romagnoli et al.: “Graphene-based integrated photonics for next-generation datacom and telecom,” Nature Reviews Materials (2018); Wu et al.: “Wafer-Scale Integration of Single Layer Graphene Electro-Absorption Modulators in a 300 mm CMOS Pilot Line,” Laser & Photonics Reviews (2023); RWTH Aachen University: “The Next Generation of Computer Chips Is Made in Aachen” (2026).

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