A tailored silicon nanopattern coupled to a semitransparent gold mirror can solve a complex mathematic equation with light.
Image credit: Ella Maru studio.
Researchers at AMOLF, University of Pennsylvania, and City University of New York (CUNY) created a nanostructured surface capable of solving equations using light. This discovery opens exciting new opportunities in the field of analog processing based on optical metasurfaces. AMOLF PhD student Andrea Cordaro and his co-authors publish their findings in Nature Nanotechnology on January 12th 2023.
The world’s ever-growing needs for efficient computing have been driving researchers from diverse research fields to explore alternatives to the current digital computing paradigm. “The processing speed and energy efficiency of standard electronics have become limiting factors for novel disruptive applications entering our everyday life, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, and many more, says Andrea Cordaro. “In this context, analog computing has resurfaced and regained significant attention as a complementary route to traditional architectures.”
Computing at the speed of light
Optical analog processing refers to the use of light to perform analog computations, as opposed to traditional electronic methods which use electricity. One major benefit of using light to perform specific computing tasks is that it can operate at much higher speeds than electronic methods, as the computation is performed at the speed of light traveling through very thin nanostructured surfaces called metasurfaces. In addition, optical analog processing can be more energy efficient than electronic methods, since it does not generate heat in the same way that electronic circuits do. This makes it well-suited for use in high-performance computing applications where speed and energy efficiency are important.
“In self-driving cars, for example, image detection and processing take up a lot of computing time”, Cordaro says.
“In an earlier paper we have shown that it is possible to use an optical metasurface for very fast edge detection in an input image. Detecting the edges of objects – like cars, people etc. – is the first step in image processing in many applications. Performing this step optically can save processing time and energy.”
Matrix inversions in a jiffy
Cordaro and his colleagues realized that they could also use metasurfaces to perform other mathematical operations. “One of the most frequent class of problems popping up in many fields, including engineering, science, and economics are so-called ‘linear inverse problems’. These typically involve matrix inversions, which are rather slow mathematical operations”, he says.
The team of researchers developed a thin dielectric nanostructure, called a metagrating, and incorporated a semi-transparent mirror into the sample to continuously send back the signal to the nanostructures, each time multiplied by the metagrating scattering matrix.
“We use a special optimization technique to design the unit cell of the nanostructured array, or metagrating, that can perform the desired matrix multiplication”, says Cordaro. “Each mathematical problem requires a specific design for the metagrating, but in theory one could engineer a surface with multiple parallel gratings to solve several integral equations in parallel.”
These results demonstrate the possibility of solving complex mathematical problems and a generic matrix inversion at speeds that are far beyond those of the typical digital computing methods. Indeed, the solution converges in about 349 fs (i.e., less than one thousand-millionth of a second), orders of magnitude faster than the clock speed of a conventional processor.
Cordaro: “We have shown a powerful new alliance between nanotechnology and analog computing that could pave the way for hybrid optical and electronic computing circuitry. Developing our ideas further, will result in solving problems of enhanced complexity at speed and efficiencies that were previously unthinkable.”
Original Article: Mathematics at the speed of light
More from: AMOLF | University of Pennsylvania | City University of New York
The Latest Updates from Bing News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Hybrid optical and electronic computing circuitry
- Materials informatics Market Size to Worth USD 1,572.93 Million by 2033
The global materials informatics market size is calculated at USD 252.9 million in 2024 and is estimated to be worth around USD 1,572.93 million by 2033, expanding at a notable CAGR of 23.05% from ...
- Leveraging Cryogenics and Photonics for Quantum Computing
While sureCore focuses on cryogenics/cryogenic semiconductor design, Quantum Computing works on photonics-based technologies.
- POET Technologies Inc.: POET Augments Investor Outreach Efforts and Announces Management Role Change
POET Technologies Inc. ("POET" or the "Company") (TSX Venture: PTK; NASDAQ: POET), the designer and developer of the POET Optical Interposer and Photonic Integrated ...
- POET Augments Investor Outreach Efforts and Announces Management Role Change
POET has retained Hybrid Financial Ltd. (“Hybrid”) to connect the Company to a select group of technology investors identified from a database of over 1,400 buy-side funds in the United States and 200 ...
- Advance in light-based computing shows capabilities for future smart cameras
Researchers developing the next generation of computing technology aim to bring some light to the field—literally. Optical computing, which relies on particles of light called photons, is expected to ...
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Optical analog processing
- AI Efficiency Breakthrough: How Sound Waves Are Revolutionizing Optical Neural Networks
Researchers have developed a way to use sound waves in optical neural networks, enhancing their ability to process data with high speed and energy efficiency. Optical neural networks may provide the ...
- Announcing the birth of QUIONE, a unique analog quantum processor
Quantum physics requires high-precision sensing techniques to delve deeper into the microscopic properties of materials. From the analog quantum processors that have emerged recently, quantum-gas ...
- Optical Coherence Tomography: A Window Into the Mechanisms of Multiple Sclerosis
Notwithstanding the differences between imaging technologies, we have confirmed that OCT and GDx metrics yield very similar findings with respect to visual loss in patients with MS who have optic ...
- Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Line With Analog Optical Switches Gen-2 Unleashes Precision
Razer knows this well enough and with their latest Huntsman V3 Pro line of eSports keyboards, but most importantly, it comes packed with their revolutionary Razer Analog Optical Switches Gen-2!
- Optical Coherence Tomography: A Window Into the Mechanisms of Multiple Sclerosis
•The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) has no myelin and can thereby be considered to be a highly enriched axonal tissue •Changes in the RNFL and macula probably reflect mechanisms of ...