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Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

arxiv.org

21–30 of 39 posts

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For starters I would try to make a hologram. Once you can do that you can expand into photonics, it means that at least your basic understanding of setup and things like interference and stability are taken care of.

That’s a good insight. Is there like some progression of this?

Hehe, it starts with a sand table...

Or maybe with reinforcing your floor joists :)

So maybe carpentry would be a good start?

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a good insight. Is there like some progression of this?

Hehe, it starts with a sand table... Or maybe with reinforcing your floor joists :) So maybe carpentry would be a good start?

Lol, I’m not sure understand. Is my comment of the base?

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hehe, it starts with a sand table... Or maybe with reinforcing your floor joists :) So maybe carpentry would be a good start?

Lol, I’m not sure understand. Is my comment of the base?

No, not at all, it's just that a proper optical setup is totally insulated from the surroundings so that a truck moving by 100 yards from your house doesn't wreck your carefully calibrated set-up.

Which usually translates into a lot of mass with as much vibration isolation as you can get.

And that in turn translates into large bins filled with sand (if you want to do this on the cheap).

And that in turn means you will most likely have to re-inforce your floor if you are in an ordinary building.

The best places to do work like this are in the middle of nowhere and away from any major roads. Even footsteps can be a problem for long running experiments where coherence is required.

It is a ton of fun though, and you will learn a lot.

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol, I’m not sure understand. Is my comment of the base?

No, not at all, it's just that a proper optical setup is totally insulated from the surroundings so that a truck moving by 100 yards from your house doesn't wreck your carefully calibrated set-up. Which usually translates into a lot of mass with as much vibration isolation as you can get. And that in turn translates into large bins filled with sand (if you want to do this on the cheap). And that in turn means you wil…

Should I get learn zemax? Is that the right direction?

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, not at all, it's just that a proper optical setup is totally insulated from the surroundings so that a truck moving by 100 yards from your house doesn't wreck your carefully calibrated set-up. Which usually translates into a lot of mass with as much vibration isolation as you can get. And that in turn translates into large bins filled with sand (if you want to do this on the cheap). And that in turn means you wil…

Should I get learn zemax? Is that the right direction?

That's definitely going to teach you lots but I always loved to tinker and learn at the same time.

How about this?:

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-compu...

OCW should be archived.

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should I get learn zemax? Is that the right direction?

That's definitely going to teach you lots but I always loved to tinker and learn at the same time. How about this?: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-compu... OCW should be archived.

I need help with the tinkering platform. I’m aware of the ocw class however it’s idk, I wanna build shit.

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#27
post #7
post #2

Hi, I'm the author of this paper [15] cited in OP's publication. We are the author of the very first implementation of a fully programmable optical linear circuit in silicon. This is the basic building block to have an optical processor (in this specific architecture). Ask me anything. [15] - http://www.photonics.intec.ugent.be/download/pub_3834.pdf

Could you foresee fully photonic hardware at some point so not just silicon but motherboards, graphics cards and even external interconnects? Is it possible to build RAM and SSDs in optical circuits yet? I ask because this has very interesting military uses that could push this forward if you could have devices impervious to electro-magnetic pulses.

I would think some of the first fully optical photonic devices would be network routers/switches. Stock traders have a lot to gain by shaving off microseconds. Possibly a fully photonic router could have a huge performance increase in the volume of packets per second and throughput as well?

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#28
post #2

Hi, I'm the author of this paper [15] cited in OP's publication. We are the author of the very first implementation of a fully programmable optical linear circuit in silicon. This is the basic building block to have an optical processor (in this specific architecture). Ask me anything. [15] - http://www.photonics.intec.ugent.be/download/pub_3834.pdf

How far are we from just using photon to run our computer instead of primarily relying to electron/electricity?

Is there anything that prevent a turing complete system that uses light/optic/photon to run instead of primarily using electron/electricity?

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#29
post #2

Hi, I'm the author of this paper [15] cited in OP's publication. We are the author of the very first implementation of a fully programmable optical linear circuit in silicon. This is the basic building block to have an optical processor (in this specific architecture). Ask me anything. [15] - http://www.photonics.intec.ugent.be/download/pub_3834.pdf

Could you explain, or maybe point to a good textbook with a chapter on the subject, why the coupling efficiency to the second waveguide on the directional coupler peaks at a certain intermediate waveguide length? I have a PhD, just not in photonics.

Pretty decent introduction if you have some physics background with some basic optical/E&M theory (PhD won’t help otherwise) is Silicon Photonics Design by Chrostowski.

Re: Towards an optical FPGA – Programmable silicon photonic circuits [pdf]

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's definitely going to teach you lots but I always loved to tinker and learn at the same time. How about this?: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-compu... OCW should be archived.

I need help with the tinkering platform. I’m aware of the ocw class however it’s idk, I wanna build shit.

Warning: gateway drug, do not open package.

https://www.integraf.com/resources/articles/a-simple-hologra...

Because of course it will start with something simple... and then you start to wonder about larger and larger holograms.

More powerful lasers...

Bigger bases... (see sand table above)

Have fun!

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