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NTT Research, a division of NTT, announced the appointment of Dr. Tetsuomi Sogawa as the new director of its Physics & Informatics (PHI) Lab. Sogawa continues the mission of his predecessor, Dr. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, to deepen the lab’s study of linear and nonlinear photonic devices while increasing collaboration with NTT’s global R&D network to advance the lab’s fundamental research into real-world applications.

“Dr. Sogawa has been a significant driver of some of the most critical research projects within NTT’s research labs, including the coherent Ising machine and ultra-low-power optical transistors using photonic crystals, a foundational piece of NTT’s Innovative Optical and Wireless Network initiative,” said NTT Research President and CEO Kazu Gomi. “His impressive research experience, record of scientific leadership and focus on bringing optical quantum innovations from the lab to reality makes Dr. Sogawa an ideal director of our PHI Lab.”

Launched in 2019 as one of NTT Research’s three original labs, the PHI Lab conducts fundamental research into nonlinear optics which is an important building-block in realizing optical-based computational platforms and related applications.

Dr. Tim McKenna lead’s the PHI lab’s efforts in thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN). With TFLN, by leveraging its strong optical nonlinearity, variety of functionalities such as Optical Parametric Amplifier, Frequency Comb, and Supercontinuum Generator can be formulated. Moreover, such functionalities can be integrated on a single chip, which leads to the potential of photonic integrated circuits. As more organizations leverage energy-hungry AI solutions, demand for optical based solutions is growing to address the energy challenge because optical based system is far more energy efficient for the functional elements required for AI platforms, massive data transmission and computation required for AI.

“My career has been built on the core belief that truly impactful technological innovation begins with an idea, a theory that can be fundamentally tested, improved, and re-tested over time,” said Sogawa. “The PHI Lab is a manifestation of that belief and brings together like-minded scientists and engineers from around the globe to advance a vision of post-electrical communications. I am incredibly excited to join this team that has been so wonderfully assembled, and whose work has been so thoughtfully fostered, by Dr. Yamamoto.”

Sogawa joined NTT Basic Research Laboratories (NTT-BRL) in 1991, where he began his research on the precise fabrication of semiconductor quantum nanostructures by combining crystal growth and microfabrication techniques. He was appointed Director of NTT-BRL in 2013 and was subsequently appointed Director of the NTT Science and Core Technology Laboratory Group, its parent organization, in 2018.

In 2019, NTT announced the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) initiative to develop and implement ultra-fast, ultra-sustainable and ultra-low-latency communications infrastructure globally. Several of the initiative’s core technologies, including the All-Photonics Network, photonic-electronic convergence devices and photonic disaggregated computing (now referred to as IOWN optical computing), were first developed within the NTT Science and Core Technology group.

Sogawa, who continues to serve as a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science, also serves as the program director for the 3rd Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP3) led by the Cabinet Office of Japan, where he spearheads efforts to translate academic research outcomes into real-world innovation. He has authored five books, co-authored 104 scholarly journal articles and contributed to 162 accepted conference papers. For more information about Sogawa and the work of the NTT Research PHI Lab.

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