A research initiative led by MIT, aimed at developing future microsystems that transmit data with enhanced bandwidth and efficiency, has achieved notable progress since its inception in 2022. The team has created devices that seamlessly integrate electronics, which handle data using electricity, with photonics, which processes data with light. These pioneering microsystems are also cost-effective, as they can be produced using existing equipment in conventional electronics foundries and packaging facilities.<\/p>\n
Anu Agarwal, who heads MIT\u2019s FUTUR-IC, stated during an April webinar sponsored by the MIT Industrial Liaison Program and Startup Exchange that their innovative electronic-photonic integrated technologies will enable data transmission rates to leap from hundreds of terabits per second to more than 1 petabit per second. Advanced systems employing co-packaged optics are expected to deliver better bandwidth and energy efficiency compared to current electronics-only or pluggable optics solutions.<\/p>\n
Microchips essential for devices like smartphones and medical imaging contributed to approximately 500 megatons of carbon dioxide-equivalent lifetime emissions in 2021. The annual production of electronic waste exceeds 50 million tons, and expanding data centers for complex computations are projected to consume nearly 10 percent of global electricity by 2030. Agarwal emphasizes that this trend is unsustainable, and FUTUR-IC, funded by the National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator, aims to tackle these efficiency challenges.<\/p>\n
Integrating photonics with the electronic basis of modern microchips could reduce energy consumption, given the energy efficiency of data transmission through light. Agarwal highlights their strategy to use electronics for computation and photonics for communication to address energy concerns. However, combining electronic and photonic chips in one package remains challenging and costly due to an underdeveloped supply chain ecosystem for co-packaged optics.<\/p>\n
FUTUR-IC has developed two new devices to facilitate easier and cheaper integration of photonic chips with microchips. The evanescent coupler was featured in Advanced Engineering Materials, while the graded index coupler (GRIN) appeared in the Journal of Physics: Photonics. A third coupler, developed by Professor Juejun Hu\u2019s MIT team, was reported in Laser & Photonics Reviews and supported by the Department of Energy.<\/p>\n
These couplers represent the first optical equivalents of “solder bumps,” enabling connections for both electrical and optical signals. Drew Weninger, the lead author on the coupler papers, points out that integrating photonics with electronics will require both types of bumps. Different optical bump options are needed due to significant trade-offs, as discussed in a Nature review article.<\/p>\n
FUTUR-IC’s structure includes Technology, Value Chain Innovation, and Workforce dimensions. In the Value Chain sector, researchers developed Earthster, a tool that helps companies evaluate energy, materials usage, and sustainability. Agarwal notes that Earthster allows suppliers to identify and mitigate carbon emission hotspots.<\/p>\n
The program has also launched initiatives to build a future workforce for next-generation microchips, including an online course on semiconductor resource efficiency, gamified digital learning, problem-based learning, a summer academy, and a hands-on bootcamp. FUTUR-IC has produced TED-Ed videos to raise K-12 awareness.<\/p>\n
At the April webinar, Agarwal acknowledged the diverse industries that FUTUR-IC seeks to benefit, including packaging and materials vendors and data center supply chains. Co-authors of the GRIN coupler paper include Agarwal, Lionel Kimerling, Christian Duessel, and Samuel Serna. The Nature review paper also lists Serna, Luigi Ranno, Kimerling, and Agarwal as co-authors.<\/p>\n