Addressing the programming challenges of practical interferometric mesh based optical processors.

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Computer Architecture
• Quantum Computing

Background:

• Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) are fundamental components in optical signal processing.
• Existing MZI mesh architectures face challenges in scalability, programming speed, and resilience to errors.
• Programmable optical processors require efficient and robust underlying architectures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and analyze a novel MZI mesh architecture, the Bokun mesh, for programmable optical processors.
• To compare the Bokun mesh with existing architectures like Diamond, Clements, and Reck.
• To demonstrate the advantages of the Bokun mesh in terms of scalability, programming efficiency, and resilience.

Main Methods:

• The Bokun mesh architecture is designed by merging attributes of the Diamond and Clements topologies.
• Performance analysis includes evaluating optical depth, diagonal path availability for phase monitoring, and scalability.
• Energy efficiency and computational accuracy are assessed using an efficient programming scheme.

Main Results:

• The Bokun mesh offers diagonal paths for direct phase monitoring, similar to Diamond, enabling faster programming.
• It maintains a minimum optical depth, enhancing scalability like Clements.
• The architecture improves energy efficiency by 83% with no loss in computation accuracy for 2 kHz weight matrix changes.
• Bokun mesh shows increased resilience to optical loss and fabrication imperfections compared to longer-depth architectures.

Conclusions:

• The Bokun mesh represents a significant advancement in programmable optical processor architecture.
• Its unique design balances direct phase monitoring with optimal optical depth for superior performance.
• This architecture holds promise for developing more efficient, scalable, and robust optical computing systems.