Northeast Securities: The popularity of the Expo reached a new high, NPO consensus strengthens superposition and tight supply
The Zhitong Finance App learned that Northeast Securities released a research report saying that the 27th China International Optoelectronics Fair (CIOE 2026) attracted nearly 190,000 visitors over the three days, an increase of 32% over the previous year. The exhibition area reached 260,000 square meters, more than 4,000 exhibitors, and the industry maintained a high boom. 800G and 1.6T have become the core products displayed by various manufacturers, and NPO has become high-frequency display products at this exhibition; the bank believes that NPO is expected to become an important optical interconnection architecture for supernode scale-up, industry consensus is expected to be further strengthened, the supply side is still tight, and iteration of active technology goes hand in hand with a sharp rise in passive volume and price.
Event: The 27th China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE 2026) was successfully held at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center from September 9 to 11. The exhibition focused on showcasing the latest technology and products in the industrial chain in the fields of optical communication, information and communication, precision optics, laser and infrared.
The main views of Northeast Securities are as follows:
The popularity of optical fairs reached a new high, and the popularity of high-speed optical connectivity continues to rise
The 27th CIOE attracted nearly 190,000 visitors over the three days, an increase of 32% over the previous year. The exhibition area reached 260,000 square meters, there were more than 4,000 exhibitors, and the industry is still booming. Judging from the structure of the exhibits, 800G and 1.6T have become the core products displayed by various manufacturers, and the single-wave 200G solutions of some manufacturers have matured. In addition, this year's optical expo also showcased specific developments in upstream and downstream core devices and system architectures: on the optical chip side, 100G/200GEML, high-power CW light sources, silicon light, and thin-film lithium niobate solutions; on the electronic chip side, products such as 112g/224gDriver, TIA, and high-speed DSP continue to be upgraded; the passive side revolves around the demand for high-density optical interconnection, and a marked increase in products such as high-channel V-slots, MPO/MT inserts, and micro-optical devices.
The NPO consensus was further strengthened and became one of the most realistic solutions for Supernode Scale-Up
NPO has become a high-frequency display product at this exhibition. Core optical module manufacturers such as Zhihe Guangtong, Huagong Zhengyuan, Cambridge Technology, Liante Technology, Solsi, Guangxun Technology, Hisilicon Optoelectronics, and Haiguang Xinzheng all exhibited corresponding 3.2T/6.4T/7.2 TNPO module solutions. Among them, the technology route was mainly external light sources, and Hisilicon further exhibited 6.4T and 7.2T built-in light source solutions. On the machine side, Ruijie Network showcased a 102.4T four-chip NPO switch, Xinhua 3 showcased a single-chip 102.4TNPO silicon optical intelligent computing switch, and Fiberfire Communications also launched a domestic FEngine51.2TNPO switch. At the same time, this year's Optical Expo set up a special NPOSummit conference. Core participants in the industry chain such as Tencent, Ali, Huawei, and Broadcom discussed NPOs and applications, further increasing industry attention. As SerDes evolves further from 224g to 448g, the loss, power consumption, and signal integrity pressure of high-speed electrical signals on PCBs rapidly increased, and traditional front panel pluggable solutions gradually faced electrical channel distance and bandwidth density constraints; although CPO can bring the optical engine closer to ASIC, factors such as advanced packaging, thermal management, system yield, reliability, and maintainability still place high demands on large-scale deployment. By deploying the optical engine near the ASIC, the NPO significantly shortens the high-speed electrical channel while retaining the modular and detachable characteristics of the optical engine through sockets, etc., forming a good balance between improved performance, maintainability, and maturity of the industrial chain. Combining overseas industrial chains to simultaneously accelerate NPO R&D and standardization, we believe that NPO is expected to become an important optical interconnection architecture for supernode scale-up, and industry consensus is expected to be further strengthened.
The supply side is still tight, and the iteration of active technology goes hand in hand with a sharp rise in passive volume and price
Feedback from the industry chain of this year's exhibition on shortages and tight production capacity is still concentrated. While production continues to expand at various stages, active and passive sides are characterized by technological iterations and sharp increases in volume and price, respectively. The active end as a whole continues to upgrade in the direction of higher speed, higher power and lower power consumption. Optical chips have evolved from 100G to 200GEML, and the increase in silicon light penetration rate has driven CW light sources to higher power. 400mW products have already been exhibited; on the other hand, electric chips such as 112g/224GDriver, TIA, and high-speed DSP continue to be iterated, and the product matrix and technical capabilities of domestic high-speed photoelectric chips have been further improved. Changes in the passive side have shown the characteristics of higher integration and accuracy, and both volume and price have increased dramatically in the context of NPO/CPO upgrades. At the system level, Xizhi Technology once again showcased the 51.2 TCPO switch prototype jointly launched with Shengke Communications, and domestic optical connectivity is gradually entering a new stage.
Relevant targets (does not represent investment advice)
(1) Light engine: Zhongji Xuchuang, Xinyisheng, Huagong Technology, Cambridge Technology, Xizhi Technology; (2) High-density optical connections: Taichen, Hengdongguang, Changxin Bochuang, Shijia Photonics, Zhishang Technology; (3) FAU, semiconductor optics: Tianfu Communications, JP; (4) Light source and upstream materials: Yuanjie Technology, Dongshan Precision, Changguang Huaxin, Yunnan Germanium, Guangzhi Technology; (5) Advanced packaging: Jingfang Technology, Changfang Technology Technology, Shenghe Jingwei, Tongfu Microelectronics; (6) PCB and electrical connections: Pengding Holdings, Shennan Circuit, Huafeng Technology; (7) Domestic computing power and switching chips: Cambrian, Haiguang Information, Moore Thread, Mu Xi, Senke Communications, ZTE, Ziguang. (Note: Hengdongguang, Guangzhi Technology, Jingfang Technology, and Shenghe Jingwei are not covered by research reports, and are only limited listings of related companies, and are not recommended for investment.)
Risk warning: The development of optical connectivity falls short of expectations; the development of AI falls short of expectations; the investment of large CSP companies in CAPEX falls short of expectations; overseas business risks that may be caused by the US FCC ban.