This talk examines the possibilities for integrated photonic VLSI systems. I consider the need for "disruptive" technologies to solve the very problems that feature size scaling has introduced in traditional VLSI electronics and the potential for photonics and hybridized systems to solve these problems. I will investigate various challenges involved in constructing a photonic VLSI system as well as the potential pitfalls and disadvantages of this approach. Finally, I conclude with a discussion of these challenges and benefits by showing steps toward realizing such a system and how addressing problems in computer architecture with an innovative photonics approach can lead to benefits in system wide performance not previously seen with existing approaches.

Professor Apsel received a Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore in 2002. Her current research interests include optoelectronic CMOS systems and architectures, short distance interconnects, and high speed CMOS interfaces. She holds two patents, has received a best paper award at the 2000 Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems, a Clare Luce Boothe Professorship in 2002, an NSF Early Career Award in 2004, and has been named to MIT Technology Review's top 100 young innovators for 2004. She is also an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II, and a member of the technical program committees for SPIE Optics East, Photonics West, IEEE LEOS meeting, and IEEE ISCAS.