Low cost, high reliability and high functionality are the driving forces for on-chip circuit integration. Photonics has created a breakthough technology for high capacity information delivery over long distances. However, this technology has been implemented in a discrete point-to-point architecture that is reminiscent of the electronic ancestors of today’s microelectronic chips. The need for integrated microphotonics is driven from two sources: 1) interconnection bottleneck that limits integrated circuit speed, and 2) all optical networking for the global distribution of information to finer network tributaries. The key components of the emerging roadmap for microphotonic integration are as follows. What are the appropriate architectures that deliver the full advantages of optics rather than emulate the electronics heritage? What devices will become the standard microphotonic circuit components? What are the materials systems and fabrication processes on which the new integrated microphotonics industry infrastructure will be built? This talk will outline the current view of the emergence of microphotonics and the near term challenges to its implementation as a global smart interconnection paradigm.