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？提出的研究计划通过探索未来十年通信和计算所需的集成光子器件和电路来解决这一挑战。我们将展示的光子电路发送和接收数据的速度至少比目前最先进的技术快十倍，而消耗的功率最多相同。我们将把光学设备的尺寸缩小一千倍以上，使它们与光本身的波长一样短。我们将使用最复杂的纳米制造工艺集成光子学来展示我们的概念。该研究项目将培养研究生的技术和协作技能，使其成为技术创新者和领导者。与私营和公共部门建立的国家和国际伙伴关系加强了培训。通过研究和培训，该计划将使加拿大在快速增长和变化的信息和通信技术领域中提高国家的竞争力。

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? The proposed research program addresses this challenge by exploring the integrated photonic devices and circuits required for communications and computing in the coming decade. We will demonstrate the photonic circuits that send and receive data at least ten times faster than today's state-of-the-art while consuming at most the same power. We will shrink the sizes of the optical devices by more than thousand-fold so they are as short as the wavelength of the light itself. We will use the most sophisticated nano-fabrication processes for integrated photonics to demonstrate our concepts. The research program will train graduate students in the technical and collaborative skills to become technology innovators and leaders. The training is enhanced by national and international partnerships with the private and public sectors. Through the research and training, this program will benefit Canada by increasing the nation's competitiveness in the rapidly growing and changing field of information and communication technology.