Digital synthesis of programmable photonic integrated circuits

Abstract

Programmable photonic waveguide meshes can be programmed into many different circuit topologies and thereby provide a variety of functions. Due to the complexity of the signal routing in a general mesh, a particular synthesis algorithm often only accounts for a specific function with a specific cell configuration. In this paper, we try to synthesize the programmable waveguide mesh to support multiple configurations with a more general digital signal processing platform. To show the feasibility of this technique, photonic waveguide meshes in different configurations (square, triangular and hexagonal meshes) are designed to realize optical signal interleaving with arbitrary duty cycles. The digital signal processing (DSP) approach offers an effective pathway for the establishment of a general design platform for the software-defined programmable photonic integrated circuits. The use of well-developed DSP techniques and algorithms establishes a link between optical and electrical signals and makes it convenient to realize the computer-aided design of optics–electronics hybrid systems.