Institute of Physics, University of Muenster, Heisenbergstr. 11, 48149, Muenster, Germany.
Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PH, UK.
Nat Commun. 2017 Nov 2;8(1):1256. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-01506-3.
Machines that simultaneously process and store multistate data at one and the same location can provide a new class of fast, powerful and efficient general-purpose computers. We demonstrate the central element of an all-optical calculator, a photonic abacus, which provides multistate compute-and-store operation by integrating functional phase-change materials with nanophotonic chips. With picosecond optical pulses we perform the fundamental arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, including a carryover into multiple cells. This basic processing unit is embedded into a scalable phase-change photonic network and addressed optically through a two-pulse random access scheme. Our framework provides first steps towards light-based non-von Neumann arithmetic.
能够在同一位置同时处理和存储多态数据的机器可以提供一类新型的快速、强大且高效的通用计算机。我们展示了一种全光计算器——光子算盘的核心元件，它通过将功能相变材料与纳米光子芯片集成，实现了多态计算和存储操作。我们使用皮秒光脉冲执行了加法、减法、乘法和除法的基本算术运算，包括进位到多个单元。这个基本处理单元被嵌入到可扩展的相变光子网络中，并通过双脉冲随机访问方案进行光学寻址。我们的框架为基于光的非冯·诺依曼算术提供了初步步骤。
