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Analog Photonic Computation

Project description

Computing models for programmable integrated photonics

For more than 50 years, digital electronics has seen a rise in computational power, thanks to the periodic doubling of transistor density within integrated circuits. Unfortunately, this scaling law is approaching its limit, leading to more applications that digital electronics cannot support. Programmable integrated photonics (PIP) offers a more efficient alternative for performing these applications but lacks computing models specialised for exploiting the benefits of PIP. The ERC-funded ANBIT project will develop a new class of computational theory, called Analogue Photonic Computation. These theories will be specialised for designing and creating computing models that effectively utilise PIP technology.

Objective

For over 5 decades, digital electronics has covered the increasing demand for computing power thanks to a periodic doubling of transistor density in integrated circuits. Currently, such scaling law is reaching its fundamental limit, leading to the emergence of a large gamut of applications that cannot be supported by digital electronics, specifically, those that involve real-time analog multi-data processing, e.g. medical diagnostic imaging, drug design and robotic control, among others. Here, an analog computing approach implemented in a reconfigurable non-electronic technology such as programmable integrated photonics (PIP) can be more efficient than digital electronics to perform these emerging applications. However, actual computing models were not conceived to extract the benefits of PIP.
The aim of ANBIT is to develop an entirely new class of computation theory – termed Analog Photonic Computation (APC) – specifically designed to unleash the full potential of PIP technology. The core concept revolves around the idea of performing analog operations on a new unit of information, the analog bit or anbit, conceived as a two-dimensional analog function and matched to the building block of PIP circuits.
ANBIT will reach its objectives by: 1) developing the theory of APC based on operations (gates) of anbits, 2) translating the principles of APC to the design of PIP circuits by concatenating single- and multi-anbit gates, 3) fabricating, packaging, testing and validating silicon PIP chips capable of implementing complex APC architectures, 4) designing, coordinating, setting and performing experiments that will prove the unique potential of APC in computational and signal processing applications with huge takeover.
ANBIT will deliver a new computing paradigm that extracts the full potential of PIP technology, which in turn will have a crucial impact on fundamental and applied research and on our information society.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) ERC-2022-ADG

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Host institution

UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIA
Net EU contribution
€ 2 491 250,00
Address
CAMINO DE VERA SN EDIFICIO 3A
46022 Valencia
Spain
Region
Este Comunitat Valenciana Valencia/València
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost
€ 2 491 250,00

Beneficiaries (1)