Multi-functional photonic processors using coherent network of micro-ring resonators

Silicon photonics have widespread applications in optical communications, photonic sensors, and quantum information processing systems. Different photonic integrated circuits often require similar basic functional elements such as tunable filters, optical switches, wavelength de-multiplexers, optical delay lines, and polarization crosstalk unscrambling. Other optical signal processing functional elements may be needed in specific applications, for example, the differentiation with respect to time of time-varying optical signals and the implementation of very high extinction interferometers in some integrated quantum photonic circuits. Just as reconfigurable electronic processors in microelectronics have advantages in terms of ready availability and low cost from large-volume generic manufacturing and are useful for configuration into different functionalities in the form of field-programmable gate arrays, here, we show how an integrated coherent network of micro-ring resonators can be used in reconfigurable photonic processors. We demonstrate the implementation of optical filters, optical delay lines, optical space switching fabric, high extinction ratio Mach–Zehnder interferometer, and photonic differentiation in a reconfigurable network where the control of the phase in the different arms of the coherent network can determine the implemented functionality.