The bottlenecks, architectures and future pathways of optoelectronic integration: an interview with Qionghai Dai

It has been more than 50 years since the concept of optoelectronic integration was first proposed. The concept refers to the integration of optical and electronic devices on a single chip to realize the combined functionalities of light manipulation and electronic data processing; it is widely considered a key approach to overcoming the speed, power, and bandwidth bottlenecks of conventional electronic systems. Despite the continuous emergence of new materials and applications, large-scale deployment has yet to be realized. Driven by emerging demands in AI computing, optical computing, and quantum computing, the field now faces a series of fundamental choices: Should we pursue extreme integration scale? Should we target monolithic integration? Should we push toward nanoscale dimensions? NSR spoke with Professor Qionghai Dai from Tsinghua University, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, to explore core questions regarding the developments, current architectures and future pathways of optoelectronic integration.