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Computing with light using integrated optics has seen huge progress over the last 3-4 years in multiple fields, such as neuromorphic computing, quantum computing and on-chip data storage. This has created a vast ecosystem that relies on high-speed reconfigurations of nanophotonic circuits (such as their use as synapses or routing applications) and ultrafast yet high-resolution, low-power photodetection. Currently, it is impossible to combine all these functionalities into an integrated platform that fits onto a single chip.
In the RESPITE project, by utilizing our newly invented superconducting Joule switches as neurons, multi-level phase change memory elements as synaptic weights, and superconducting single-photon detector arrays as retina, we will demonstrate a novel platform which combines vision and cognition on a single chip. This new platform will allow in-sensor neuromorphic computing with unprecedented performance levels. The platform will have attoJoule switching power consumption, sub-nanosecond latency, and high compactness (3000 neurons and >100K synapses on <5 mm2). Unlike other superconducting neuromorphic technologies, our new platform will be scalable, easy to fabricate, and compatible with low-cost cryostats, high-Tc superconductors, quantum applications, and on-chip learning architectures – making it a game changer for a wide range of users and disciplines.
Reservoir Computing
A type of machine learning that is used to process data such as audio and video signals. It is a type of recurrent neural network where the input data is fed into a network of nodes called the reservoir and is shown to be effective in a wide range of applications, including speech recognition and image recognition, while being computationally efficient and easy to train.
Multipixel Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector (SNSPD) Arrays
These detectors are highly specialised for quantum optics and quantum information processing applications and can detect single photons with high efficiency and low noise.
Nanowires operating at very low temperatures (2.5 Kelvin, below the superconducting critical current) are able to detect single photons by absorption, which causes an increase in resistance locally, indicating detection. This incredibly high detection efficiency has the potential to be used in many specialised optical and quantum applications.
Phase Change Materials of Varying Thicknesses and Phases
Phase change materials have a variety of applications and have been previously used in electronic memory devices and optical disks. These materials undergo a rearrangement of their atoms upon heating or cooling, which causes them to become either amorphous or crystalline.
This reversible change in orientation causes additional changes to material properties such as the refractive indices, electrical conductivity and transparency, which can be exploited in a number of applications.
