Shape optimized photonic integrated circuit for optical computing applications

Abstract : Shape-optimization techniques were quite recently applied to photonic components but to the best of our knowledge, no application to optical computing has been reported yet. Here, we present the design of a photonic integrated circuit, composed of shape optimized passive components, performing a matrix-vector product. A ≈ 2000 times gain on the overall footprint is achieved in comparison with a conventional circuit using classical Mach-Zehnder interferometers.