17963027. RECONFIGURABLE ALL-OPTICAL NONLINEAR ACTIVATION FUNCTIONS ON SILICON-INTEGRATED PLATFORM simplified abstract (HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP)

RECONFIGURABLE ALL-OPTICAL NONLINEAR ACTIVATION FUNCTIONS ON SILICON-INTEGRATED PLATFORM

Organization Name

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP

Inventor(s)

YIWEI Peng of Houston TX (US)

Yuan Yuan of Milpitas CA (US)

Stanley Cheung of Milpitas CA (US)

RECONFIGURABLE ALL-OPTICAL NONLINEAR ACTIVATION FUNCTIONS ON SILICON-INTEGRATED PLATFORM - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17963027 titled 'RECONFIGURABLE ALL-OPTICAL NONLINEAR ACTIVATION FUNCTIONS ON SILICON-INTEGRATED PLATFORM

Simplified Explanation

The abstract describes a patent application for all-optical reconfigurable activation devices that can achieve various activation functions using low input optical power. The devices include a directional coupler with a first phase-shift mechanism and an interferometer with at least one microring resonator and a second phase-shift mechanism.

• The directional coupler and interferometer are made of waveguides formed of a first material, while the microring resonator is made of a waveguide formed of a second material with a third phase-shift mechanism.
• The second material is a low-loss material with a high Kerr effect and large bandgaps to generate nonlinear activation functions.
• The phase-shift mechanisms are configured to control biases within the systems and devices to achieve the desired activation function.

Potential Applications

The technology described in the patent application could have potential applications in:

• Optical signal processing
• Optical computing
• Nonlinear optics research

Problems Solved

The technology addresses the following problems:

• Achieving various activation functions using low input optical power
• Controlling biases within optical systems for desired outcomes
• Generating nonlinear activation functions efficiently

Benefits

The benefits of this technology include:

• Low input optical power requirements
• Reconfigurable activation functions
• Efficient generation of nonlinear activation functions

Potential Commercial Applications

The technology could be commercially applied in:

• Optical communication systems
• Optical sensors
• Quantum computing devices

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art for this technology could be:

• Research on microring resonators in optical devices
• Studies on phase-shift mechanisms in optical systems

Unanswered Questions

How does the efficiency of the activation functions compare to traditional methods?

The article does not provide a direct comparison between the efficiency of the activation functions using this technology and traditional methods.

Are there any limitations to the types of activation functions that can be achieved with this device?

The article does not mention any limitations on the types of activation functions that can be realized using this technology.

Original Abstract Submitted

Systems, devices, and methods are provided for all-optical reconfigurable activation devices for realizing various activations functions using low input optical power. The device and systems disclosed herein include a directional coupler comprising a first phase-shift mechanism and an interferometer coupled to the directional coupler. The interferometer comprises at least one microring resonator and a second phase-shift mechanism coupled to thereto. The interferometer and the directional coupler comprise waveguides formed of a first material, while the microring resonator comprises a waveguide formed of a second material and a third phase-shift mechanism. The second material is provided as a low-loss material having a high Kerr effect and large bandgaps, to generate various nonlinear activation functions. The first, second, and third phase-shift mechanisms are configured to control biases within the disclosed systems and devices to achieve a desired activation function.