Integrated photonics for communications and computing

到2016年，联网设备的数量将接近地球人口数量的三倍。包括平板电脑和智能手机在内的计算设备正在引发数据爆炸，这些数据必须以节能的方式传输和处理。集成光子学在解决计算和通信面临的严重的能量和数据容量问题方面具有关键作用。光是我们所知道的在城市和大陆之间远距离传输大量数据的最有效的方式。随着移动和云计算的日益普及，大量数据也必须在更短距离的网络中进行通信，例如数据中心设施和建筑物内的网络。我们能否将光通信的独特优势转化为满足通信和计算方面的这些需求？

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?