Coherent Optical Parallel Computing

Project Information

COPAC

Grant agreement ID: 766563

DOI

10.3030/766563

Project closed

EC signature date 8 August 2017

Start date 1 November 2017

End date 30 April 2021

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)

Total cost

€ 2 993 640,00

EU contribution

€ 2 993 640,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - COPAC (Coherent Optical Parallel Computing)

Reporting period: 2018-11-01 to 2021-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

COPAC aims at foundational experimental, theoretical and algorithmic innovations to demonstrate a new technological paradigm for ultrafast parallel multi-valued information processing at room temperature. COPAC opens a transformative novel area in computing both because of the technology, coherent information transfer by ultrafast laser addressing of engineered quantum dots, QD, arrays and because of the specialized parallel processing of large amounts of information. A ground-breaking nonlinear coherent spectroscopy combining optical addressing and spatially macroscopically resolved optical readout to achieve unprecedented levels of speed, density and complexity will be developed. Two key high-risk / high-reward pioneering elements are the quantum engineered coherent concatenation of units and the multidirectional optical detection. Experimental demonstrations on tailored multilayer QD arrays of increasing complexity, integration into a device and novel hardware and matched compilers will be delivered. Preliminary experimental demonstrations of the response of solutions and of QD films are available as is the validation of logic operation in parallel.
COPAC has four overall objectives directed towards enabling the design and the realization of novel high-density and ultrafast parallel logic device at room temperature.
Objective 1. To execute dense multivalued parallel logic on a single optically active node in solution
Objective 2: To develop the capability to implement dense multivalued parallel logic on condensed phase arrays.
Objective 3. Increasing the number of output directions.
Objective 4. To engineer and validate an integrated module.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The results achieved during the first two years by the COPAC beneficiaries were made possible by a strong collaborative effort of the partners, PI and researchers working on the project which ensured the fulfillment of the objectives, milestones and deliverables up to M24.
By the end of the second year of the project, 9 peer reviewed publications on the results of COPAC have appeared, of which four are resulting from collaborations between the partners. In addition during the second year of the project, the COPAC partners presented the results of the project at 18 scientific meetings and at 5 reach out events.

Multiscale modeling tools for dyes and QD arrays set up in the first year were used to support the interpretation of the experimental data measured in the 2DES set up. Interdot coupling leading to interdot electronic coherences in QD dimers and QD arrays was demonstrated experimentally, guided by theoretical modeling. Intradot electronic coherences resulting from building superposition of fine structure excitons due to spin-orbit coupling were characterized experimentally and theoretically. The modeling of the optical responses of an ensemble of QD of different sizes in different phase matching direction was set -up and the experimental set-up built. Synthesis for smaller QD and strategies for enhancing the interdot coupling were put in place. The optimal characteristics of a standardized prototype COPAC device (endurance, stability, signa/noise ratio) were delineated. The theory of computed by observable for an ensemble of disordered QD’s was shown to be noise resilient which makes the parallelism robust for moderate size variability. A parallel search algorithm based on the Grover -one was et-up. Compilers directly targeting the COPAC device were developed. A compiler implementing functions up to K variables on a real COPAC device was designed. It was tested on implementing a n-bit fuller adder on a COPAC device.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Progress beyond state of the art
COPAC provides progress beyond state of the art at several levels. These will enable it to present to European industries an optical-parallel-computing-module that operates under ambient conditions and that is ready for manufacturing and implementation towards massive data handling.

Expected results
The continued advance of the information society requires transformative new ways for the faster processing of the rapidly increasing volumes of information that are being generated by an ever-growing range of applications. COPAC will demonstrate a prototype on which the industrial development of new ultrafast devices and processing systems can be based. COPAC will combine our preliminary multidisciplinary experimental and theoretical breakthroughs advances with the expertise of technology partners to bring our work to the programmable device level. COPAC will build on the new capabilities provided by the hardware that it will develop to initiate new algorithms and new kinds of mathematical and computational approaches that are essential operations in large volume data analysis, data compaction and logic synthesis.
The long term vision of COPAC is the application of atomic and molecular state resolved controlled quantum dynamic processes towards information processing at room temperature. Within this our targeted breakthrough is a novel prototype device for parallel logic engineered to industry standards and with suitable compilers.

Potential impacts
COPAC seeks to achieve a radically new line of technology for implementing massively parallel computing at the hardware level by coherent non-linear optical addressing and reading at room temperarture. COPAC will deliver a proof-of-concept prototype optical device that exploits the quantum features of the hardware and has potentially the same capabilities as quantum computing yet performs classical logic and it performs at ambient conditions. The key advantages of the new technology are that, if successful, the COPAC device will operate at room temperature, using a bottom-up self assembly approach to build the device, process large amounts of information per cycle in parallel at a high speed and enables a macroscopic evaluation and reading in parallel of many (multivalued) observables. The new technology relies on transformational impact and technological breakthroughs in computer architecture, with the developments of compilers and software adapted to processing information by non-linear coherent spectroscopy and exploiting new science that enables parallelism at the hardware level. Developing and mastering new information and communication technologies (ICT) is of strategic importance for the Single Digital Market in Europe. COPAC answers the pressing need of the society for fast and efficient ICT in Europe in the communication, automotive, environmental control, healthcare, security, artificial intelligence and entertainment industries, which call for disruptive and versatile devices that can operate at ambient conditions.

Impact during the first two years
The concept and technology developed by COPAC are expected to have an impact on the community working in the domain of the FET EC Flagship quantum technologies. All COPAC participants are involved in various ways in this community in the field of non conventional quantum computing, quantum simulations and quantum devices.
During the first two years, COPAC made several scientific advances that can have an impact in quantum molecular and nano information processing, non linear spectroscopy of supramolecular complexes and nanotechnologies and devices. The results were disseminated both to the scientific community and to the industry, thanks to the partners strong involvement in dissemination and reach out activities.

Scheme of ultra dense parallel information processing