Programme MESA+ colloquium February 1, 2021

PROGRAMME MESA+ COLLOQUIUM 

Date:  Monday, 1 February 2021
Time: 16:00 - 17:00 hrs.
Location: online 

Hosted by the MESA+ Center  for Brain-Inspired Nano Systems (BRAINS).

MESA+ COLLOQUIUM BY PROF. WOLFRAM PERNICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MÜNSTER (GERMANY), ‘TOWARDS BRAIN-INSPIRED PHOTONIC COMPUTING

Abstract 

Towards brain-inspired photonic computing

Photonic integrated circuits allow for designing computing architectures which process optical signals in analogy to electronic integrated circuits. Therein electrical connections are replaced with photonic waveguides which guide light to desired locations on chip. Through near-field coupling, such waveguides enable interactions with functional materials placed very close to the waveguide surface. This way, photonic circuits which are normally passive in their response are able to display active functionality and thus provide the means to build reconfigurable systems. By integrating phase-change materials nonvolatile components can be devised which allow for implementing hardware mimics of neural tissue. Here I will present our efforts on using such a platform for developing optical non-von Neumann computing devices. In these reconfigurable photonic circuits in-memory computing allows for overcoming separation between memory and central processing unit as a route towards artificial neural networks which operate entirely in the optical domain.

Please click here for the biography of Prof. Wolfram Pernice.