Project description
Light-speed solutions for hard problems
As digital hardware nears its performance limits, traditional Von-Neumann computers struggle with complex combinatorial optimisation problems in fields like networks and AI. The need for alternative computing paradigms is urgent. With this in mind, the ERC-funded LOOP project explores ultrafast optical hardware for solving these problems. By harnessing the polarisation of light, LOOP creates an optical Ising machine that operates at picosecond speeds, dramatically faster than current systems. This approach uses polarisation as an ultrafast nonlinear oscillator to encode solutions, providing a scalable, parallel computing mechanism. With the potential to solve NP-hard optimisation problems in microseconds, LOOP is paving the way for a new era of optical computing that transcends the limitations of traditional electronics.
Objective
Computing impacts every aspect of modern science and society. Von-Neumann computers are inefficient in addressing important combinatorial optimizations widespread from networks to artificial intelligence. Finding alternative paradigms to tackle these intractable problems is now vital as digital hardware approaches its ultimate performance limit. A promising strategy maps the optimization in spin models implemented on a physical setup that evolves as a spin system to the solution. This fascinating scheme has recently attracted huge interest, leading to various electronic and optical Ising machines that, however, remain challenging to scale and speed up.
LOOP is an experimental proposal that aims at creating ultrafast optical hardware for combinatorial optimization by exploiting the polarization of light. The optical polarization is a new ingredient in computing that is absent in electronics. The original idea is to use the polarization as an ultrafast nonlinear oscillator that encodes the spin. We demonstrate the concept by controlling polarization bifurcation in third-order nonlinear crystals by electro-optics, enabling a low-power computing mechanism that operates at picosecond. The main goal is the realization of a polarization Ising machine that solves NP-hard optimization problems with thousands of spins in microseconds. The all-optical machine operates orders-of-magnitude faster than state-of-the-art digital and analog hardware. The scheme is fully parallel and scalable by combining polarization dynamics with spatial light modulation. Moreover, the vectorial nature of the polarization allows to surpass the binary operation of Ising machines. We exploit orbits on the Poincar sphere to realize an ultrafast XY machine for continuous optimization, opening a new direction in optical computing.
LOOP is an interdisciplinary program that spans from nonlinear optics to complex science to establish a new computing paradigm for optimization in the post-Moores law era.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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00185 Roma
Italy
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