Reconfigurable application-specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equations

Solving mathematical equations faster and more efficiently has been a Holy Grail for centuries for scientists and engineers across all disciplines. While electronic digital circuits have revolutionized equation solving in recent decades, it has become apparent that performance gains from brute-force...

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Main Authors: Ye Jiachi, Shen Chen, Peserico Nicola, Meng Jiawei, Ma Xiaoxuan, Nouri Behrouz Movahhed, Popescu Cosmin-Constantin, Hu Juejun, Kang Haoyan, Wang Hao, El-Ghazawi Tarek, Dalir Hamed, Sorger Volker J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2024-01-01
Series:Nanophotonics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0732
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author Ye Jiachi
Shen Chen
Peserico Nicola
Meng Jiawei
Ma Xiaoxuan
Nouri Behrouz Movahhed
Popescu Cosmin-Constantin
Hu Juejun
Kang Haoyan
Wang Hao
El-Ghazawi Tarek
Dalir Hamed
Sorger Volker J.
author_facet Ye Jiachi
Shen Chen
Peserico Nicola
Meng Jiawei
Ma Xiaoxuan
Nouri Behrouz Movahhed
Popescu Cosmin-Constantin
Hu Juejun
Kang Haoyan
Wang Hao
El-Ghazawi Tarek
Dalir Hamed
Sorger Volker J.
author_sort Ye Jiachi
collection DOAJ
description Solving mathematical equations faster and more efficiently has been a Holy Grail for centuries for scientists and engineers across all disciplines. While electronic digital circuits have revolutionized equation solving in recent decades, it has become apparent that performance gains from brute-force approaches of compute-solvers are quickly saturating over time. Instead, paradigms that leverage the universes’ natural tendency to minimize a system’s free energy, such as annealers or Ising Machines, are being sought after due to favorable complexity scaling. Here, we introduce a programmable analog solver leveraging the formal mathematical equivalence between Maxwell’s equations and photonic circuitry. It features a mesh network of nanophotonic beams to find solutions to partial differential equations. As an example, we designed, fabricated, and demonstrated a novel application-specific photonic integrated circuit comprised of electro-optically reconfigurable nodes and experimentally validated 90 % accuracy with respect to a commercial solver. Finally, we tested this photonic integrated chip performance by simulating thermal diffusion on a spacecraft’s heat shield during re-entry to a planet’s atmosphere. The programmable light-circuitry presented herein offers a facile route for solving complex problems and thus will have profound potential applications across many scientific and engineering fields.
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series Nanophotonics
spelling doaj-art-1b928bb1c794435a8f16af7c1958ce592025-08-20T02:49:30ZengDe GruyterNanophotonics2192-86142024-01-0113122231223910.1515/nanoph-2023-0732Reconfigurable application-specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equationsYe Jiachi0Shen Chen1Peserico Nicola2Meng Jiawei3Ma Xiaoxuan4Nouri Behrouz Movahhed5Popescu Cosmin-Constantin6Hu Juejun7Kang Haoyan8Wang Hao9El-Ghazawi Tarek10Dalir Hamed11Sorger Volker J.12Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC20052, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC20052, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC20052, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC20052, USADepartment of Material Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USADepartment of Material Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC20052, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611, USASolving mathematical equations faster and more efficiently has been a Holy Grail for centuries for scientists and engineers across all disciplines. While electronic digital circuits have revolutionized equation solving in recent decades, it has become apparent that performance gains from brute-force approaches of compute-solvers are quickly saturating over time. Instead, paradigms that leverage the universes’ natural tendency to minimize a system’s free energy, such as annealers or Ising Machines, are being sought after due to favorable complexity scaling. Here, we introduce a programmable analog solver leveraging the formal mathematical equivalence between Maxwell’s equations and photonic circuitry. It features a mesh network of nanophotonic beams to find solutions to partial differential equations. As an example, we designed, fabricated, and demonstrated a novel application-specific photonic integrated circuit comprised of electro-optically reconfigurable nodes and experimentally validated 90 % accuracy with respect to a commercial solver. Finally, we tested this photonic integrated chip performance by simulating thermal diffusion on a spacecraft’s heat shield during re-entry to a planet’s atmosphere. The programmable light-circuitry presented herein offers a facile route for solving complex problems and thus will have profound potential applications across many scientific and engineering fields.https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0732aspicpdeanalog solverpic
spellingShingle Ye Jiachi
Shen Chen
Peserico Nicola
Meng Jiawei
Ma Xiaoxuan
Nouri Behrouz Movahhed
Popescu Cosmin-Constantin
Hu Juejun
Kang Haoyan
Wang Hao
El-Ghazawi Tarek
Dalir Hamed
Sorger Volker J.
Reconfigurable application-specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equations
Nanophotonics
aspic
pde
analog solver
pic
title Reconfigurable application-specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equations
title_full Reconfigurable application-specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equations
title_fullStr Reconfigurable application-specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equations
title_full_unstemmed Reconfigurable application-specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equations
title_short Reconfigurable application-specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equations
title_sort reconfigurable application specific photonic integrated circuit for solving partial differential equations
topic aspic
pde
analog solver
pic
url https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0732
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