Time-multiplexed photonic computer

A device, comprising:

• a programmable photonic processor configured to operate on optical pulses to perform computational sequences of linear operations and nonlinear operations each based on a parametric nonlinear optical process;
• a memory coupled to the processor and programmable to store or accumulate the analog optical pulse amplitudes of the optical pulses;
• a control circuit controlling the transfer of the analog optical pulse amplitudes between the processor and the memory according to a computation schedule;
• and
• wherein information is multiplexed in time by encoding the information onto the analog optical pulse amplitudes of the optical pulses occupying time bins at a fixed repetition rate such that the optical pulses, occupying different ones of the time bins, can be made to interact using appropriate temporal delays, wherein:
• the processor comprises a first cavity comprising a first optical parametric oscillator (OPO);
• the memory comprises a second cavity comprising a second OPO;
• and
• the OPOs each generate the optical pulses comprising signal and/or idler pulses in response to a pump pulse using the parametric nonlinear optical process comprising at least one of a second order process or third order parametric process;
• and
• the first cavity and the second cavity are coupled by programmable couplers to allow the partial or complete transfer of the optical pulses between the first cavity and the second cavity by means of coherent interference of the optical pulses.

A method for computing, comprising:

• using a processor comprising a first OPO, operating on optical pulses to perform computational sequences of linear operations and nonlinear operations each based on a parametric nonlinear optical process in the first OPO;
• storing or accumulating the analog optical pulse amplitudes of the optical pulses in a memory;
• controlling a transfer of the analog optical pulse amplitudes between the processor and the memory according to a computation schedule;
• and
• wherein information is multiplexed in time by encoding the information onto the analog optical pulse amplitudes of the optical pulses occupying time bins at a fixed repetition rate such that the optical pulses, occupying different ones of the time bins, can be made to interact using appropriate temporal delays to implement the computational sequence of operations.