Parallel photonic chip for nanosecond end-to-end image processing, transmission, and reconstruction

Abstract

Image processing, transmission, and reconstruction constitute a major proportion of information technology. The rapid expansion of ubiquitous edge devices and data centers has led to substantial demands on the bandwidth and efficiency of image processing, transmission, and reconstruction. The frequent conversion of serial signals between the optical and electrical domains, coupled with the gradual saturation of electronic processors, has become the bottleneck of end-to-end machine vision. Here, we present an optical parallel computational array chip (OPCA chip) for end-to-end processing, transmission, and reconstruction of optical intensity images. By proposing constructive and destructive computing modes on the large-bandwidth resonant optical channels, a parallel computational model is constructed to implement end-to-end optical neural network computing. The OPCA chip features a measured response time of 6 ns and an optical bandwidth of at least 160 nm. Optical image processing can be efficiently executed with minimal energy consumption and latency, liberated from the need for frequent optical–electronic and analog–digital conversions. The proposed optical computational sensor opens the door to extremely high-speed processing, transmission, and reconstruction of visible contents with nanoseconds response time and terahertz bandwidth.