Optical computing system and method of use
AssigneeLuminous Computing, Inc.
InventorsThomas W. Baehr-Jones, Mitchell A. Nahmias
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An optical computation system, preferably including an optical source, a splitter, and one or more phase accumulator banks. A phase accumulator bank, preferably including two optical paths, a plurality of phase accumulator units, and a detector module, and optionally including one or more compensation phase shifters. A method, preferably including receiving one or more optical inputs, receiving one or more electrical inputs, controlling one or more phase accumulator units based on the electrical inputs, and generating one or more electrical outputs based on optical signals.
Claims21
A method for optical computation, comprising:
- at a first optical path, receiving a first optical input, wherein:
- the first optical input is coherent;
- the first optical path is optically coupled to a plurality of phase shifters;
- and
- the first optical input propagates along the first optical path, past the plurality of phase shifters, to an optical coupler;
- receiving a first electrical signal representative of a multiplier vector comprising a plurality of multipliers;
- receiving a second electrical signal representative of a multiplicand vector comprising a plurality of multiplicands, wherein:
- a first bijective function maps each multiplier of the multiplier vector to a corresponding multiplicand of the multiplicand vector;
- and
- a second bijective function maps each multiplier of the plurality of multipliers to a corresponding phase shifters of the plurality of phase shifters;
- for each multiplier of the plurality of multipliers:
- determining a respective product of the multiplier with the corresponding multiplicand;
- and
- at the corresponding phase shifters, based on the respective product, imposing a respective phase delay on the first optical input;
- concurrent with receiving the first optical input, at a second optical path, receiving a second optical input, wherein:
- the second optical input is coherent;
- the first and second optical inputs each comprise light of a first wavelength;
- and
- the second optical input propagates along the second optical path to the optical coupler;
- at the optical coupler, generating at least one optical interference output by optically coupling the first and second optical inputs;
- providing the at least one optical interference output to an optoelectrical detector;
- and
- at the optoelectrical detector, transducing the at least one optical interference output into an electrical output signal associated with a dot product of the multiplier vector and the multiplicand vector.
A method for optical computation, comprising:
- at a first optical path, receiving a first optical input, wherein:
- the first optical input is coherent;
- the first optical path is optically coupled to a plurality of phase shifters;
- the first optical input propagates along the first optical path, past a plurality of phase accumulators units, to an optical coupler;
- for each phase shifter of the plurality of phase shifters:
- receiving a respective electrical input representative of a respective summand;
- and
- at the phase shifter, based on the respective electrical input, imposing a respective phase delay on the first optical input;
- concurrent with receiving the first optical input, at a second optical path, receiving a second optical input, wherein:
- the second optical input is coherent;
- the second optical input propagates along the second optical path to the optical coupler;
- at the optical coupler, generating at least one optical interference output by optically coupling the first and second optical inputs;
- providing the at least one optical interference output to an optoelectrical detector;
- and
- at the optoelectrical detector, transducing the at least one optical interference output into an electrical output signal associated with a sum of the summands.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.