Events

Analog Information Processing with Programmable Photonic Unitary Circuits

Mohammad-Ali Miri, PhD, Associate Professor, Electrical & Microelectronics Engineering , Rochester Institute of Technology

Presented in-person in Goergen 101 and on Zoom

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Abstract

Analog photonic information processing is garnering significant interest due to its potential to revolutionize how we approach signal processing. Unlike digital systems, analog photonic processors can naturally leverage the inherent properties of light to perform complex computations with exceptional speed and efficiency. In this talk, I will present a novel programmable photonic circuit architecture for efficiently implementing arbitrary discrete linear unitary operations—one of the most fundamental mathematical operations that underpin a wide range of applications. I will explore the key features of this architecture, which leverages alternating active and passive building blocks, and discuss its extensions for realizing essential transformations in information processing. Additionally, I will highlight its applications in photonic devices, spanning switching, filtering, and beam steering. Looking ahead, I will outline a roadmap for integrating these capabilities into on-chip photonic neural networks. I will conclude by discussing the key challenges and opportunities of programmable photonic alternating architectures for advancing photonic computing.

Biography

Mohammad-Ali Miri is an Associate Professor of Electrical & Microelectronics Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Before joining RIT he served as an Assistant and Associated Professor of Physics at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) from 2018 to 2025. He earned his Ph.D. in Optics from CREOL, the Center for Optics and Photonics, at the University of Central Florida in 2014. His research interests encompass the broad areas of optics and photonics, integrated photonics, nonlinear optics, and optical computing and analog information processing. He has authored and co-authored more than 200 publications in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings, which have received over 11,000 citations. He has raised over $3M in research funding. He is a recipient of the 2022 Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) award of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and the 2022 CUNY Junior Faculty Award funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.