Article Synopsis
- Integrated photonic technology has advanced, allowing for the creation of complex photonic circuits on chips that can be programmed for various applications using software.
- Recent innovations involve new photonic building blocks, circuit designs, and control strategies that enhance functionality.
- These programmable circuits hold potential for diverse uses in areas like linear matrix operations, quantum information processing, and microwave photonics, facilitating faster development of novel optical features without the need for custom fabrication.
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Article Abstract
The growing maturity of integrated photonic technology makes it possible to build increasingly large and complex photonic circuits on the surface of a chip. Today, most of these circuits are designed for a specific application, but the increase in complexity has introduced a generation of photonic circuits that can be programmed using software for a wide variety of functions through a mesh of on-chip waveguides, tunable beam couplers and optical phase shifters. Here we discuss the state of this emerging technology, including recent developments in photonic building blocks and circuit architectures, as well as electronic control and programming strategies. We cover possible applications in linear matrix operations, quantum information processing and microwave photonics, and examine how these generic chips can accelerate the development of future photonic circuits by providing a higher-level platform for prototyping novel optical functionalities without the need for custom chip fabrication.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2764-0 | DOI Listing |
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