Call for Publicly Offered Research

MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) “Photonic Computing Highlighting Ultimate Nature of Light”
　Period of Research:　　　　　　 FY 2025–2026
　Official Webpage in MEXT:
　　　　　　　　　　　　    https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shinkou/hojyo/boshu/1394559_00015.htm

1. Details of Research Area

　To meet the ever-growing demands of information communication and processing and to support the sustainable development of an advanced information society, it is expected that new computing principles and technologies utilizing physical processes will be created. This research area which aims to create photonic computing by integrating optical science and technology with information science and technology, focusing on leveraging the “extreme performance of light.” will explore various characteristics of light, such as high-speed propagation, low loss, wide bandwidth, multiplexing, and real-world interaction capabilities. This research area is organized into three research pillars, each with specific goals and content:
　Research Pillar A (Planned Research A01, A02): “System architecture to benefit from the ultimate nature of light”, which focuses on overcoming the architectural limits that hinder the use of light in computing and researching system architectures that fully utilize the inherent performance of light. Specific topics include photonic approximation computing that maximizes the high speed and multiplexing of light and task decomposition for optimal integration of photonic and electronic systems.
　Research Pillar B (Planned Research B01, B02, B03): “Computing mechanism to exploit the ultimate nature of light”, which aims to develop computing mechanisms that utilize the physical limits of light, such as its spatiotemporal multiplexing and multi-valued representation capabilities. Specific topics include photonic reservoir computing, the application of extreme light modulation in computing, and the creation of advanced optical functions such as optical decision-making.
　Research Pillar C (Planned Research C01, C02): “Device fundamentals to benefit from the ultimate nature of light”, which focuses on innovating device platforms to draw out the unexplored potential of light. Specific topics include integrated photonic devices for computing that utilize the multiplexing of light and the fusion of ultra-high-frequency electronics and photonics to overcome bottlenecks between optical and electronic systems.

2. Call for Proposals and Expectations for Publicly Offered Research, etc.

　We are soliciting original and pioneering research proposals related to photonic computing that leverages the extreme performance of light, targeting all three research pillars (A, B, and C). The fusion of photonics and computing is a rapidly advancing field, with efforts to realize optical matrix-vector operations through the progress of silicon photonics integration technology. Applications requiring functionalities and performances significantly different from traditional systems, such as digital twins and generative AI, are rapidly expanding, marking a crucial transformative period for creating new academic foundations supporting next-generation information processing infrastructures. The role of the solicited research is to expand and deepen research that leads to academic transformation, ranging from academic foundations to practical application deployment.
　However, the duration and funding for the solicited research are limited. Therefore, research proposals must be highly original and pioneering. Proposals should focus on one of the research pillars: A (computer science, applied systems, mathematical sciences), B (information physics, information optics, quantum science, nonlinear science), or C (optical devices, electronic devices, materials science), emphasizing the unique perspectives of “architectural limits (Pillar A)”, “extreme performance (Pillar B)”, or “unexplored potential (Pillar C)”. Moreover, this research area requires a certain consideration of future applications even for fundamental research. This does not mean that research development must include content premised on social implementation but rather that the proposal should consider the relevance to applications and connections with other research.
　The research area encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including optical science, information science, computer science, electrical and electronic engineering, communication engineering, mathematical sciences, and materials engineering. Additionally, regarding application and use case studies, the research should have broad applicability beyond traditional computing and information communication technologies. An important role of the solicited research is to strengthen and develop researcher networks, including young researchers, by collaborating with diverse academic fields involved in this research area.

3. Research Group, Upper Limit of Annual Budget and Number of research projects
　scheduled to be selected

Research Group Number	Research Group	Upper Limit of Annual Budget (Million yen)	Number of research projects scheduled to be selected
A03	System architecture to benefit from the ultimate nature of light	2.5 6	10 5
B04	Computing Mechanism to exploit ultimate nature of light
C03	Device fundamentals to benefit from the ultimate nature of light