Scalable control techniques for automated configuration of programmable photonic circuits

As the scale of reconfigurable photonic chips increases, solutions are needed to address the increasing complexity of the electronic readout circuits needed to monitor the optical functionality. The number of these elements is strictly related to the scale of the photonic chip, and it can represent a significant overhead, in terms of electrical connections and area occupation, when the optical complexity increases. Here, we propose two scalable methods for controlling programmable chips using a single readout circuit, by individually labeling each photonic device. Experimental results at 10 Gbit/s confirm the effectiveness of the approach, while simulation analyses highlight the trade-offs that need to be considered when employing the proposed techniques.