Photonics-Electronics Convergence Technology to Accelerate IOWN

This paper describes the direction of photonics-electronics convergence technology for the Innovative Optical Wireless Network (hereinafter called IOWN) concept by NTT in 2019. IOWN is an initiative to create a sustainable society that cannot be achieved with current network infrastructure. By taking advantage of optical technology for across-the-board network communications and computing, NTT is aiming to provide a new ICT platform that features high-capacity, high-quality, low-latency, and low-power consumption. The primary requirements for device technology are ultra-fine semiconductor manufacturing processes, ultra-high density assembly, and photonics-electronics convergence. Thus, NTT is promoting research and development in accordance with the roadmap to incorporate optical communications technology into the details of computing components step by step. This challenge could lead to the ultimate computing capacity that extends Moore's law, and we believe it can resolve the ever-increasing power consumption problem of information processing and contribute to the realization of carbon neutrality.