Efficient hardware error correction with hybrid on-offline configuration algorithm for optical processor

Photonic neural networks (PNNs) have emerged as a promising platform for high-speed, parallel, and low-latency computing by harnessing the linear propagation of optical signals. However, scaling up PNNs faces significant challenges due to hardware errors caused by fabrication variations and environm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Communications physics Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 323 - 9
Main Authors: Zhao, Zichao, Zhu, Huihui, Liang, Qishen, Ma, Haoran, Fu, Ziyi, Jiang, Xingyi, Chen, Bei, Wang, Yuehai, Chen, Tian, Shi, Yuzhi, Yang, Jianyi
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 09.08.2025
Nature Publishing Group
Nature Portfolio
Subjects:
639/624/1075/1079
639/624/1075/401
639/624/1111/1113
Algorithms
Artificial intelligence
Calibration
Circuits
Compatible hardware
Computation
Configurations
Convergence
Decomposition
Electrical equipment
Error correction
Error correction & detection
Hardware
Iterative algorithms
Microprocessors
Neural networks
Optimization
Photonics
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Processors
Propagation
Robustness
Scaling up
Task complexity
ISSN:2399-3650, 2399-3650
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Photonic neural networks (PNNs) have emerged as a promising platform for high-speed, parallel, and low-latency computing by harnessing the linear propagation of optical signals. However, scaling up PNNs faces significant challenges due to hardware errors caused by fabrication variations and environmental factors. Traditional approaches, such as offline error correction and online training, either rely on complex control systems or suffer from local optima convergence issues, resulting in limited scalability and efficiency. Here, we propose a hybrid on-offline configuration (HOOC) algorithm for programmable optical processors. This innovative approach combines offline initial value presetting with online perturbed optimization iteration algorithm, enabling precise and highly efficient error correction. We benchmark the algorithm’s performance in complex-valued matrix configuration and classification tasks, demonstrating robust error correction capabilities, including high reconstruction fidelity (≥98%), rapid convergence (≤10 iterations), and reduced dependence on detection devices. Furthermore, numerical simulations of high-order coherent processors demonstrate that our HOOC algorithm effectively avoids local optima, a common limitation of the conventional in-situ training method, thus simultaneously improving the scalability and robustness. These results underscore the viability and efficiency of the HOOC algorithm for scalable and robust PNN implementations, paving the way for scalable optical computing in artificial intelligence applications. Scaling up photonic neural networks for AI hardware is hindered by manufacturing and environmental errors. This work introduces a hybrid algorithm that combines offline calibration with online optimization, achieving highly efficient hardware error correction with rapid convergence while avoiding common local optima issues.
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ISSN:2399-3650
2399-3650
DOI:10.1038/s42005-025-02247-2