Its supposed to be all about using light (including lasers) and sensors to transfer data using extremely small devices as I understand it.
Biden announced the award with Cuomo following a private briefing on the technology. President Alain Kaloyeros of the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute showed the two men an array of next-generation photonic technology, including a chip with 144 optical ports and the potential to transmit 20 terabytes of data a second and a module with more than 400 integrated photonic elements that can transmit the equivalent of the entire print content of the Library of Congress in 20 seconds.