Integrated photonics modular arithmetic processor

Abstract

Integrated photonics computing has emerged as a promising approach to overcome the limitations of electronic processors in the post-Moore era, capitalizing on the superiority of photonic systems. However, present integrated photonics computing systems face challenges in achieving high-precision calculations, consequently limiting their potential applications, and their heavy reliance on analog-to-digital (AD) and digital-to-analog (DA) conversion interfaces undermines their performance. Here we propose an innovative photonic computing architecture featuring scalable calculation precision and a novel photonic conversion interface. By leveraging Residue Number System (RNS) theory, the high-precision calculation is decomposed into multiple low-precision modular arithmetic operations executed through optical phase manipulation. Those operations directly interact with the digital system via our proposed optical digital-to-phase converter (ODPC) and phase-to-digital converter (OPDC). Through experimental demonstrations, we showcase a calculation precision of 9 bits and verify the feasibility of the ODPC/OPDC photonic interface. This approach paves the path towards liberating photonic computing from the constraints imposed by limited precision and AD/DA converters.