When Drew Weninger was a PhD student at MIT, he helped solve a problem that could change how we power the internet — and help save the planet at the same time.
Weninger and his colleagues developed three tiny devices called optical couplers, which act like bridges between regular computer chips and a newer type of chip that uses light instead of electricity to move data. These devices are the first of their kind in the world — the optical equivalent of "solder bumps," the tiny metal dots that have connected electronic components for decades.
"You'll need both metal bumps and optical bumps, because there are devices on your photonics chip that will require both an electrical signal and an optical signal," Weninger explained.
The work comes from a program called FUTUR-IC, led by MIT researcher Anu Agarwal and funded by the National Science Foundation. Since 2022, the team has been building microsystems that can transmit data using far less energy than today's technology allows. Their goal is ambitious: jump from transmitting data at hundreds of terabits per second to over 1 petabit per second. That's roughly 10 times faster.
Why does this matter? Right now, the microchips inside phones, laptops, and medical devices contribute about 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions each year. Every year, the world also throws away more than 50 million tons of electronic waste. Meanwhile, massive data centers that stream your Netflix shows and power AI tools are growing fast — they're projected to need nearly 10 percent of the world's electricity by 2030.
"This is neither scalable nor sustainable, and cannot continue," Agarwal has warned.
The solution might be simpler than expected. The team designed their optical couplers to work with existing equipment at regular electronics factories, which keeps costs down and makes it easier for companies to adopt the technology. The evanescent coupler, published on the cover of Advanced Engineering Materials, can be packed tightly together for more connections. A second device, called the GRIN coupler, works across a wider range of light colors, making it more flexible.
"Our mantra is to use electronics for computation and photonics for communication to bring this energy crisis under control," says Agarwal.
Beyond the hardware, the FUTUR-IC team has also created tools to help companies measure their environmental impact. Earthster lets businesses see exactly where they're producing the most carbon emissions, so they can make changes quickly.
If this technology scales widely, it could mean faster internet, lower energy bills, and a meaningfully smaller footprint from the billions of devices we rely on every day.