Integrated photonics for communications and computing

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By 2016, the number of Internet-connected devices will be nearly three times the number of people on Earth. Computing devices, including tablets and smartphones, are causing an explosion of data that must be transmitted and processed in an energy-efficient manner. Integrated photonics has a critical role in solving the severe energy and data capacity problems facing computing and communications. Light is the most efficient way we know to transport large volumes of data across distances that span our cities and continents. With the growing pervasiveness of mobile and cloud computing, huge amounts of data must also be communicated in much shorter distance networks, such as those inside datacenter facilities and buildings. Can we translate the unique benefits of optical communications to meet these demands in communication and computing?