All-optical Logic Devices Research Articles

Dual-channel intrinsic and nonlinear chirality for an all-optical logic operation.

Chiral metasurfaces hold excellent performance in enhancing spin-dependent light-matter interaction, showing broad application prospects in areas such as chiral imaging, chiral light sources, and chiral sensing. However, utilizing resonant metasurfaces to achieve all-optical logic gates has not been reported yet. In this work, dual-channel intrinsic and nonlinear chiroptical responses are achieved on lithium niobate metasurfaces. The combination of bound states in the continuum (BICs) resonant modes with chiral metasurfaces has revealed its linear and nonlinear chirality. The metasurface achieves linear circular dichroism above 0.9 and nonlinear circular dichroism close to 0.9 on the dual-band. Based on the second-order nonlinear chiroptical response, multiple all-optical logic gates (including NOT, OR, NAND, AND, and NOR) can be realized on the chiral metasurfaces. Our results confirm the operability of resonant metasurfaces in realizing all-optical logic gates, offering a potentially promising approach for the development of new, to the best of our knowledge, all-optical logic devices.

Comprehensive design of all-optical logic devices utilizing polarization holography.

Polarization holography has emerged as a promising method for manipulating the amplitude, phase, and polarization states of light waves. This study proposes what we believe to be a novel design method for various all-optical logic devices, including a complete set of all-optical Boolean logic gates and a polarization-controlled 1 × 4 optical switch, utilizing polarization holography. Through the angle multiplexing technique, specially designed polarization holograms are recorded in polarization-sensitive material, transforming it into all-optical Boolean logic gates and a polarization-controlled 1 × 4 optical switch. The all-optical logic devices developed in this work function as passive diffractive optical elements, enabled by a single piece of polarization-sensitive material, eliminating the need for additional circuit control. This approach offers the advantages of a simple structure, low cost, and instantaneous response. We contend that this advancement will facilitate the expansion of the application domains of polarization holography, particularly enhancing the capabilities of all-optical information processing.

All-Optic Logical Operations Based on the Visible-Near Infrared Bipolar Optical Response.

The burgeoning need for extensive data processing has sparked enthusiasm for the development of a novel optical logic gate platform. In this study, junction field-effect phototransistors based on molybdenum disulfide/Germanium (MoS2/Ge) heterojunctions are constructed as optical logic units. This device demonstrates a positive photoresponse that is attributed to the photoconductivity effect occurring upon irradiation with visible (Vis) light. Under the illumination of near-infrared (NIR) optics with wavelengths within the communication band, the device shows a negative photoresponse, which is associated with the interlayer Coulomb interactions. The current state of the device can be effectively modulated as different logical states by precisely tuning the wavelength and power density of the optical. Within a 3×3 MoS2/Ge phototransistor array, five essentially all-optical logic gates ("AND," "OR," "NAND," "NOT," and "NOR") can be achieved in every signal unit. Furthermore, three complex all-optical logical operations are demonstrated by integrating two MoS2/Ge phototransistors in series. Compared to electronic designs, these all-optical logic devices offer a significant reduction in transistor number, with savings of 50-94% when implementing the above-mentioned functions. These results present opportunities for the development of photonic chips with low power consumption, high fidelity, and large volumes.

Polarization-based all-optical logic gates using diffractive neural networks

Optical logic operations are an essential part of optical computing. The inherent stability and low susceptibility of polarization to the external environment make it a suitable choice for acting as the logical state in computational tasks. Traditional polarization-based optical logic devices often rely on complex cascading structures to implement multiple logic gates. In this work, by leveraging the framework of deep diffractive neural networks (D2NN), we proposed a uniform approach to designing polarization-encoded all-optical logic devices with simpler and more flexible structures. We have implemented AND, OR, NOT, NAND, and NOR gates, as well as High-order Selector and Low-order Selector. These polarization-based all-optical logic devices using D2NN offer passive nature, stability, and high extinction ratio features, paving the way for a broader exploration of optical logic computing in the future.

Reconfigurable all-optical logic device based on cross-phase modulation across highly non-linear fiber

All-optical logic gates are the basic building blocks of photonic integrated circuits to be used for signal processing, to ensure high speed signal processing and decreasing complexity of network. In this paper, reconfigurable all-optical logic gate has been proposed and numerical simulations are analysed at a bit rate of 120 Gb/s. Wavelength Converter, NOT, NOR, AND, XOR, XNOR, A¯.B and OR are the all-optical logic gates that has been designed and implemented using single circuit and has minimum quality factor of 27 dB. All the signal processing operations have been implemented by the exploitation of cross-phase modulation in two parallelly placed (Mach-Zehnder Interferometric configuration) highly nonlinear fibers (HNLF). The influence of variation in input power, at different length of HNLF determines that the quality factor increases for increase in power or length of highly nonlinear fiber up to a certain limit. Quality factor increases for decrease in effective area of the highly nonlinear fiber for a certain range of input power and saturates for further increase in input power. Also, the quality factor is not directly affected with increase in bit rate but adversely affected by increase in dispersion.

Controlling the Spatial Profile and Energy Landscape of Organic Polariton Condensates in Double-Dye Cavities.

The development of high-speed, all-optical polariton logic devices underlies emerging unconventional computing technologies and relies on advancing techniques to reversibly manipulate the spatial extent and energy of polartion condensates. We investigate active spatial control of polariton condensates independent of the polariton, gain-inducing excitation profile. This is achieved by introducing an extra intracavity semiconductor layer, nonresonant to the cavity mode. Partial saturation of the optical absorption in the uncoupled layer enables the ultrafast modulation of the effective refractive index and, through excited-state absorption, the polariton dissipation. Utilizing an intricate interplay of these mechanisms, we demonstrate control over the spatial profile, density, and energy of a polariton condensate at room temperature.

All-optical full-adder design based on photonic crystals using nonlinear effects.

All-optical logic devices are essential for realizing all-optical signal processing. A full-adder is the basic building block of an arithmetic logic unit used in all-optical signal processing systems. In this paper, we aim to design an ultrafast and compact all-optical full-adder based on the photonic crystal. In this structure, three main inputs are connected to the three waveguides. Also, we have added one input waveguide to create symmetry in the structure and to improve the performance of the device. A linear point defect and two nonlinear rods of doped glass and chalcogenide are used to control the light behavior. The designed structure consists of 21×21 dielectric rods with a radius of 114nm in a square cell and a lattice constant of 543.3nm. Also, the area of the proposed structure is 130µm 2, and the maximum delay time of the proposed structure is about 1ps, which indicates the minimum data rate of 1THz. The maximum normalized power for low states and the minimum normalized power for high states are obtained as 25% and 75%, respectively. These characteristics make the proposed full-adder appropriate for high-speed data processing systems.

Multifunctional and wavelength division multiplexing all-optical logic gates based on four-port metal-insulator-metal waveguides coupled with a ring resonator.

In the past few years, designing multifunctional all-optical logic devices has attracted more and more attention in integrated optical computing. We report a metal-insulator-metal based four-port all-optical logic gate device containing two parallel straight waveguides and a ring resonator. We employ the scattering matrix method to analyze the coupling mechanisms of the hybrid waveguide and adopt the finite-difference time-domain method to design four fundamental logic functions of AND, OR, XOR, and NOT based on the all-optical coherent control of the four-port system under three symmetrically incident conditions. We demonstrate that these logic functions can be freely modulated by changing the phase difference of the input light at two resonant wavelengths or in a broad band. The logic gate device proposed shows a simple structure with multiple functions, multiple channels, and convenience in fabrication, and can be applied in parallel optical computing based on wavelength division multiplexing technology.

Topology-Optimized Ultracompact All-Optical Logic Devices on Silicon Photonic Platforms

The realization of all-optical integration and optical computing has always been our goal. One of the most significant challenges is to make integrated all-optical logic devices as small as possible. Here, we report the implementation of ultra-compact all-optical logic devices and integrated chips on silicon photonic platforms by topology optimization. The footprint for the fabricated all-optical logic gates with XOR and OR functions is only 1.3*1.3 {\mu}m2 (~0.84{\lambda}*0.84{\lambda}), that are the smallest all-optical dielectric logic devices ever verified in experiments in the optical communication range. The ultra-low loss of the optical signal is also demonstrated experimentally (-0.96dB). Furthermore, an integrated chip containing seven major logic gates (AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR, and XNOR) and a half adder is fabricated, where the associated footprint is only 1.3*4.5 {\mu}m2. Our work opens up a new path towards practical all-optical integration and optical computing.

All-optical logic devices based on black arsenic–phosphorus with strong nonlinear optical response and high stability

The Kerr nonlinearity in two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials is emerging as an appealing and intriguing research area due to their prominent light processing, modulation, and manipulation abilities. In this contribution, 2D black arsenic-phosphorus (B-AsP) nanosheets (NSs) were applied in nonlinear photonic devices based on spatial self-phase modulation (SSPM) method. By applying the Kerr nonlinearity in 2D B-AsP, an all-optical phase-modulated system is proposed to realize the functions of “on” and “off” in all-optical switching. By using the same all-optical phase-modulated system, another optical logic gate is proposed, and the logical “or” function is obtained based on the 2D B-AsP NSs dispersions. Moreover, by using the SSPM method, a 2D B-AsP/SnS₂ hybrid structure is fabricated, and the result illustrates that the hybrid structure possesses the ability of the unidirectional nonlinear excitation, which helps in obtaining the function of spatial asymmetric light propagation. This function is considered an important prerequisite for the realization of diode functionalization, which is believed to be a factor in important basis for the design of isolators as well. The initial investigations indicate that 2D B-AsP is applicable for designing optical logical devices, which can be considered as an important development in all-optical information processing.

Nonlinear control of logic structure of all-optical logic devices using soliton interactions

Nonlinear control of logic structure of all-optical logic devices using soliton interactions

The design of a reconfigurable all-optical logic device based on cross-phase modulation in a highly nonlinear fiber

A simple reconfigurable ultrahigh-speed optical device which can be configured to optical NOT, AND, or XOR logic operation via slight variations in the input signals applied to two identical parallel highly nonlinear fibers (HNLFs) is described. The cross-phase modulation (XPM) in the HNLF and phase shifter are used in the design to realize a reconfigurable all-optical logic gate operating at 120 Gb/s. The proposed reconfigurable ultrahigh-speed all-optical logic device could play a crucial role in the realization of future all-optical high-performance flexible optical networks.

Topological all-optical logic gates based on two-dimensional photonic crystals.

In this work, we report the design of topological filter and all-optical logic gates based on two-dimensional photonic crystals with robust edge states. All major logic gates, including OR, AND, NOT, NOR, XOR, XNOR, and NAND, are suitably designed by using the linear interference approach. Moreover, numerical simulations show that our designed all-optical logic devices can always work well even if significant disorders exist. It is expected that such robust and compact logic devices have potential applications in future photonic integrated circuits.

Reconfigurable and tunable terahertz wrench-shape metamaterial performing programmable characteristic.

A design of a tunable terahertz (THz) programmable device by using wrench-shape metamaterial (WSM) is presented, which is composed of a Au layer fabricated on a Si substrate. The size of the WSM unit cell is 30 μm×30 μm, and the distance between each WSM is 20μm. The electromagnetic response of the THz programmable device exhibits the switch function for single-band resonance and dual-band resonance at the transverse electric mode and transverse magnetic mode. The resonance spans from 3.00 to 8.00THz and is insensitive to the angle of the incident THz wave. While changing the incident angle of the THz wave, the bandwidth of the resonance becomes broader and the transmission spectrum decreases gradually. By configuring the unit cell from single-atom to quad-atom, WSM exhibits optical-logic behaviors with programmable characteristics and anti-interference. Such results are very suitable for use for an ultra-narrowband filter, single-/dual-band switch, polarization switch, and programmable device. It could potentially provide all-optical logical devices with multichannel data processing at higher bit rates.

Optical bistability and multistability induced by quantum coherence in diamond germanium-vacancy color centers.

Optical bistability (OB) and optical multistability (OM) behaviors are investigated theoretically in a four-level N-type diamond germanium-vacancy (GeV) color center scheme immersed in a unidirectional ring cavity based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). It is found that OB behavior is very sensitive to the system parameters, such as the detunings of probe and coupling fields and the intensities of coupling fields as well as the density of GeV centers, and the thresholds of OB can be controlled via changing these parameters. In addition, we can switch OB to OM by adjusting the intensity of control field and the density of GeV centers or vice versa. Our results may provide some guidance for an all-optical switching, optical communications, and optical logic devices in a solid-state system.

Squeezed property of optical transistor based on cavity optomechanical system

All-optical diodes and all-optical transistors are the basis of all-optical logic devices. We study the quantum statistical properties of all-optical diodes based on cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED)<sup>[<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="b1">1</xref>]</sup>, and discuss the squeezed properties of the output light after passing through the diode when coherent light and squeezed light are incident. Here we extend our research to all-optical transistor, and take all-optical transistor based on cavity optomechanical system as the research object. By changing the intensity of classical pump light, the all-optical transistor can effectively control the output of the probe light and realize optical amplification. We discuss the squeezed properties of the output light of the all-optical transistor with squeezed light and coherent light as the probe light. Our results show that when the probe light is coherent, the output light remains coherent no matter whether it works in the amplified region, and is not squeezed. When the input probe light is amplitude squeezed light, the output light is still squeezed light in the light amplification region of all-optical transistor, but the squeezed properties are modulated by the input light squeezed properties and system parameters. When the squeezed angle of the input probe squeezed light is 0°, the minimum squeezed parameter S<sub>1</sub> of the output squeezed light decreases with the increase of the squeezed coefficient r of the input probe light, and the minimum value approaches to the squeezed limit of –0.25. But the change of squeezed angle of the input probe squeezed light changes has a great influence on the squeezed parameter S<sub>1,2</sub> of the output light, and the squeezed properties will disappear. Only when the squeezed angle is an integer multiple of π, will the squeezed properties of the output light be best. This result has a potential application value in quantum measurement, weak signal detection, and other fields.

Terahertz All-Optical Logic Gates Based on a Graphene Nanoribbon Rectangular Ring Resonator

A type of all-optical logic gates based on a graphene nanoribbon rectangular ring resonator for terahertz frequency is proposed and numerically investigated by finite-difference time-domain simulations. By utilizing the surface plasmon polaritons propagated along the graphene nanoribbon, the tunability in frequency of the filter effect can be achieved by tuning the bias voltage of graphene. The proposed structure can realize NOT, XOR, and XNOR gates, corresponding to the high contrast ratio of about 14.2, 19.5, and 14.1 dB, respectively. The proposed logic gates would be a potential component for designing all-optical logical photonic devices in an optical communication system.

Nanoscale all-optical logic devices

Commercial computers based on electronic logic devices have brought great changes to the world. However, traditional electronic devices are suffering from numerous technical challenges in their attempts to continue to satisfy Moore’s law. All-optical logic devices, as promising successors to their electronic counterparts, have become a major focus of optics research. In this paper, we provide a review of current all-optical logic devices. The logic gates in these devices, which are described in the first part of the review, are divided into five categories based on the different principles used in their realization. Complex optical devices with various functions and reconfigurable devices are summarized in the next section. In the final part of this paper, we discuss some of the previous works on all-optical integrated chips with specific functions. This review will provide a complete technological roadmap for all-optical devices and aims to be helpful in possible future developments in this growing field.

Coherent perfect absorption and asymmetric interferometric light-light control in graphene with resonant dielectric nanostructures

Engineering light absorption in graphene has been the focus of intensive research in the past few years. In this paper, we show numerically that coherent perfect absorption can be realized in monolayer graphene in the near infrared range by harnessing resonances of dielectric nanostructures. The asymmetry of the structure results in different optical responses for light illuminated from the top side and the substrate side and enables asymmetric interferometric light-light control. The absorbed and scattered light exhibit interesting nonlinear behavior, allowing switching a strong optical signal output with a weak light. This work may stimulate potential applications including new types of sensors, coherent photodetectors and all-optical logical devices.

All-Optical Multiple Logic Gates Based on Spatial Optical Soliton Interactions

In this letter, all-optical logic gates with attraction and repulsive interactions of coherent spatial optical solitons have been designed in a bulky nonlinear Kerr medium. The logic gates comprise logical AND and OR gates by the attraction of two obliquely propagating inphase spatial optical solitons and logical NOR and XNOR gates based on repulsive interaction among three out of phase spatial optical solitons. The numerical results show that soliton interactions perform a high contrast power level between ON/OFF states. The proposed model is applicable to design phase-modulated logical gates too. The simplicity and ease for fabrication of the proposed logic gates would be a potential key component for the future of all-optical logical photonic devices and computational photonic circuits.