IP Library Granted Patent US 12704712
Granted Patent B2
US 12704712 · App. 18/204,220 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Photonic logic gates based on S-matrix optimization

Inventors: Ahmed Khaled (Kingston, CA); Bhavin J. Shastri (Kingston, CA); Bicky A. Marquez (Kingston, CA); Orad Reshef (Ottawa, CA)
Assignee: Milkshake Technology Inc.
G02B27/0012
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12704712
App. No.
18/204,220
Granted
Aug 11, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to an efficient design of a photonic circuit by an emulator circuit that optimizes coefficients of an S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit. The emulator circuit comprises a first optimizer circuit, a comparator circuit, and a second optimizer circuit. The first optimizer circuit determines target coefficients of a target S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit, based on photonic input signals and target photonic output signals of the target S-matrix representation model. The comparator circuit compares the target coefficients with device coefficients of an S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit. The second optimizer circuit iteratively updates the device coefficients based on the comparison to determine final device coefficients. The photonic circuit is defined in accordance with the determined final device coefficients.

Claims (50)

1 . An emulator circuit, comprising:

a first optimizer circuit configured to determine a plurality of target coefficients of a target S-matrix representation model of a photonic circuit, based on photonic input signals and target photonic output signals of the target S-matrix representation model;

a comparator circuit configured to compare the plurality of target coefficients with a plurality of device coefficients of a S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit; and

a second optimizer circuit configured to iteratively update the plurality of device coefficients based on the comparison to determine a final version of the plurality of device coefficients,

wherein the photonic circuit is defined in accordance with the final version of the plurality of device coefficients,

wherein the S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit is a reciprocal matrix of the plurality of device coefficients,

wherein a first subset of the plurality of device coefficients that represent matching in input ports of the photonic circuit are set to zeroes, and

wherein a second subset of the plurality of device coefficients that represent an isolation of input ports of the photonic circuit are set to zeroes.

2 . The emulator circuit of claim 1 , wherein the comparator circuit is further configured to compare a set of outputs of the S-matrix representation model with a set of the target photonic output signals for each set of the photonic input signals.

3 . The emulator circuit of claim 1 , wherein the second optimizer circuit is further configured to determine the final version of the plurality of device coefficients that differ from the plurality of target coefficients by one or more predetermined threshold amounts.

4 . The emulator circuit of claim 1 , wherein the second optimizer circuit is further configured to determine the final version of the plurality of device coefficients equal to the plurality of target coefficients.

5 . The emulator circuit of claim 1 , wherein:

the comparator circuit is further configured to determine a gradient value by at least comparing the plurality of target coefficients with the plurality of device coefficients; and

the second optimizer circuit is further configured to determine the final version of the plurality of device coefficients when the gradient value is less than a threshold value.

6 . The emulator circuit of claim 1 , wherein the photonic input signals and the target photonic output signals comprise a plurality of light signals injected in at least one of a set of photonic input ports of the photonic circuit and a set of photonic output ports of the photonic circuit.

7 . The emulator circuit of claim 6 , wherein the set of photonic input ports and the set of photonic output ports represent at least one of: a set of waveguides, a set of waveguide polarizations, a set of waveguide modes, a set of light wavelengths, and one or more signals radiated by the photonic circuit.

8 . The emulator circuit of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of device coefficients of the S-matrix representation model define relations between the set of photonic input signals of the photonic circuit and a set of photonic output signals of the photonic circuit.

9 . The emulator circuit of claim 1 , wherein the second optimizer circuit is further configured to determine the final version of the plurality of device coefficients after a plurality of iterations when the photonic circuit is configured to operate as an N-bit photonic gate.

10 . The emulator circuit of claim 9 , wherein the N-bit photonic gate comprises at least one of: one or more XOR photonic gates, one or more AND photonic gates, one or more NAND photonic gates, one or more half-adder photonic gates, one or more full adder photonic gates, one or more majority photonic gates, and one or more choice photonic gates.

11 . A method, comprising:

determining, via a first optimizer circuit, a plurality of target coefficients of a target S-matrix representation model of a photonic circuit, based on photonic input signals and target photonic output signals of the target S-matrix representation model;

comparing, via a comparator circuit, the plurality of target coefficients with a plurality of device coefficients of a S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit; and

updating, in an iterative manner via a second optimizer circuit, the plurality of device coefficients based on the comparison to determine a final version of the plurality of device coefficients,

wherein the photonic circuit is defined in accordance with the final version of the plurality of device coefficients,

wherein the plurality of device coefficients of the S-matrix representation model define relations between a set of photonic input signals and a set of photonic output signals,

wherein the set of photonic input signals and the set of photonic output signals comprise a plurality of light signals injected in at least one of a set of photonic input ports of the photonic circuit and a set of photonic output ports of the photonic circuit, and

wherein the S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit is a reciprocal matrix of the plurality of device coefficients.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

comparing, via the comparator circuit, a set of outputs of the S-matrix representation model with a set of the target photonic output signals for each set of the photonic input signals.

13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining, via the second optimizer circuit, the final version of the plurality of device coefficients equal to the plurality of target coefficients.

14 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining, via the comparator circuit, a gradient value by at least comparing the plurality of target coefficients with the plurality of device coefficients; and

determining, via the second optimizer circuit, the final version of the plurality of device coefficients when the gradient value is less than a threshold value.

15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining, via the second optimizer circuit, the final version of the plurality of device coefficients after a plurality of iterations when the photonic circuit is configured to operate as an N-bit photonic gate, and

the N-bit photonic gate comprises at least one of: one or more XOR photonic gates, one or more AND photonic gates, one or more NAND photonic gates, one or more half-adder photonic gates, one or more full adder photonic gates, one or more majority photonic gates, and one or more choice photonic gates.

16 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising stored instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of an emulator circuit, cause the at least one processor to:

determine a plurality of target coefficients of a target S-matrix representation model of a photonic circuit, based on photonic input signals and target photonic output signals of the target S-matrix representation model;

compare the plurality of target coefficients with a plurality of device coefficients of a S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit; and

update in an iterative manner the plurality of device coefficients based on the comparison to determine a final version of the plurality of device coefficients,

wherein the photonic circuit is defined in accordance with the final version of the plurality of device coefficients obtained by the emulator circuit,

wherein the plurality of device coefficients of the S-matrix representation model define relations between a set of photonic input signals and a set of photonic output signals,

wherein the set of photonic input signals and the set of photonic output signals comprise a plurality of light signals injected in at least one of a set of photonic input ports of the photonic circuit and a set of photonic output ports of the photonic circuit, and

wherein the S-matrix representation model of the photonic circuit is a reciprocal matrix of the plurality of device coefficients.

17 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the stored instructions comprise further stored instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to:

determine a gradient value by comparing the plurality of target coefficients with the plurality of device coefficients; and

determine the final version of the plurality of device coefficients when the gradient value is less than a threshold value.

18 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the stored instructions comprise further stored instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to:

program the photonic circuit to function within an integrated circuit in accordance with the final version of the plurality of device coefficients.