Gearing of for tomorrow: Photonic engineering talents crucial to ensure the success of The National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan.
Including photonics in engineering programmes the way forward
HUMAN technology has made great strides since the First Industrial Revolution (IR1.0).
Even during the Second World War, mankind did not stop making progress in technological applications.
For instance, computers, which were originally used as military decoders, and the global positioning system, which was dedicated to air force navigation, were developed in the midst of the war.
Having ushered in IR3.0 following the emergence of the Internet, the world is headed towards IR4.0, which is expected to produce highly intelligent industrial and commercial sectors.
In preparation for this, the Malaysian government in 2018 developed several strategies, which the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) has outlined in the National Policy on Industry 4.0 (Industry4WRD).
Among the highlights of the policy are the 11 enabling technologies and seven transformation drivers that clearly indicate the national direction towards IR4.0.
Among the IR4.0 technologies include artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IoT) and extended reality (XR).
In both IR3.0 and IR4.0, electron energy has been heavily relied on as the source of high-speed signal transmission.
Electron-based technologies, however, are not ideal for high-speed signal transmission due to the limitation of propagation speed and weak immunity from signal interference.
Therefore, advancements that are able to subvert electron-based technologies will have the highest potential to lead IR5.0.
Photon, which is an elementary particle of light, is often regarded as a viable candidate to revolutionise electron-based technologies. Based on solid-state physics, electrons and photons are interconvertible through the excitation and recombination processes.
Compared with electrons, photons exhibit faster transmission speed and are immune to electromagnetic wave interference in the surrounding environment. Common photon technology products include the light-emitting diode (LED), laser, and photovoltaic cells.
While most technological equipment in this century such as electrical appliances, computers and smartphones are driven by electrons, photonic technologies are slowly stepping into our daily lives.
In the field of telecommunications, photonic technologies such as the optical fibre system have replaced electronics technology to achieve high-speed wired signal transmission.
In power transmission, electrical power transmission requires costly high-voltage towers and cables to transmit electricity.
In fact, a decade ago, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) had built the prototype of wireless energy transmission technology using photons as the energy carrier.
Absorbed solar energy at the space station is converted to high-intensity laser source, and transmitted to the earth’s surface as a pollution-free renewable energy source.
Furthermore, in the supercomputer development, the core of quantum computing is driven by photons to achieve high speed and high stability computing technology.
In the manufacturing industries, photonic technologies have been widely used in modern manufacturing systems, including laser cutting machine, optical sensors, three-dimensional imaging, and medical equipment.
In 2019, Malaysia announced its National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP), which was worth RM21.6bil.
In addition, many photonics-relevant manufacturing companies have been established in the country.
The question thus is, do we have enough talents and workforce to support the photonics engineering sector?
In countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and China, photonics or optoelectronics is becoming one of the mainstreams of engineering programmes.
In Malaysia’s higher education system, there is, to the best of my knowledge, no photonics engineering programme currently being offered in any local or private university.
Photonics-related knowledge is only offered as part of two or three modules in electrical and electronics engineering programmes.
Hence, it is clear that our current education system needs to put more effort into the development of prospective engineering programmes, and to ensure our country is able to cope with the upcoming industrial revolution, which may herald the photon revolution. Are we ready for it?
Prof Dr Tiu Zian Cheak is a registered professional member with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and the Malaysia Board of Technologists (MBOT) in the field of electrical and electronics technology. A professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Quantity Surveying in INTI International University, he is actively involved in photonics research with more than 70 Science Citation Index (SCI) publications to his name, and has over a decade of experience lecturing at vocational, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
