Photonic logic tensor computing beyond Tbit/s per core

Abstract

The soaring demand for computing resources has spurred great interest in photonic computing with higher speed and larger computing capacity. Photonic logic gates are of crucial importance due to the fundamental role of Boolean logic in modern digital computing systems. However, most photonic logic schemes struggle to exhibit the capability of massively parallel processing and flexible reconfiguration, owing to weak and fixed nonlinearity in optical elements. Here, we propose a photonic logic tensor computing architecture for the first time and fabricate the photonic universal logic tensor core (PULTC) with a parallel logic computing capacity beyond Tbit/s. Ten wavelength channels and four spatial channels are designed in the PULTC, where the logic computing speed in each channel can reach 50 Gbit/s. After the nonlinear mapping of microring modulators, arbitrary logic operations can be achieved by configuring the Mach–Zehnder interferometer mesh. We further develop a photonic logic tensor card and demonstrate various functions including cellular automata, image encryption and decryption, and image edge extraction. Our work offers an innovative route for photonic universal logic computing with high-parallel capability and propels the practical applications of photonic logic computing.