Scientists from institutions such as Columbia University and Cornell University in the United States have deeply integrated photon technology with advanced complementary metal oxide semiconductor electronic technology to jointly develop a new type of three-dimensional optoelectronic chip. This chip achieves unprecedented data transmission energy efficiency and bandwidth density, laying a solid foundation for the development of the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. The relevant research paper was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Photonics. The latest 3D chip developed by the research team has an area of only 0.3 square millimeters and integrates 80 high-density photon emitters and receivers, providing an ultra-high data transmission bandwidth of 800 gigabytes per second and excellent energy efficiency of only 120 femjoules per transmitted 1 bit of data. Meanwhile, the bandwidth density of the new chip is 5.3 terabytes per second per square millimeter, far exceeding the existing benchmark. Moreover, the design architecture of the latest chips is highly compatible with existing semiconductor production lines, and is expected to achieve large-scale production. Light, as a communication medium, can transmit large amounts of data with minimal energy loss. This feature has not only triggered the Internet revolution based on optical fiber network to transmit data, but also has the potential to significantly expand computing power. If more efficient data communication can be achieved between nodes in computer networks, the development of AI technology is expected to be completely transformed. The latest chip integrates photon technology, which is an ultra energy-efficient and high bandwidth data communication link that is expected to eliminate bandwidth bottlenecks between different computing nodes in space, promote the development of next-generation AI computing hardware, and open up new avenues for faster and more efficient AI technology. The distributed AI architecture that was previously impossible to implement due to energy consumption and data transmission delays will also be able to be realized as a result. (New Society)