Ultrafast neuromorphic photonic image processing with a VCSEL neuron

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Robertson, Joshua and Kirkland, Paul and Alanis, Juan Arturo and Hejda, Matěj and Bueno, Julián and Di Caterina, Gaetano and Hurtado, Antonio (2022) Ultrafast neuromorphic photonic image processing with a VCSEL neuron. Scientific Reports, 12. 4874. ISSN 2045-2322 (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08703-1)

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Abstract

The ever-increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) systems is underlining a significant requirement for new, AI-optimised hardware. Neuromorphic (brain-like) processors are one highly-promising solution, with photonic-enabled realizations receiving increasing attention. Among these, approaches based upon vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) are attracting interest given their favourable attributes and mature technology. Here, we demonstrate a hardware-friendly neuromorphic photonic spike processor, using a single VCSEL, for all-optical image edge-feature detection. This exploits the ability of a VCSEL-based photonic neuron to integrate temporally-encoded pixel data at high speed; and fire fast (100 ps-long) optical spikes upon detecting desired image features. Furthermore, the photonic system is combined with a software-implemented spiking neural network yielding a full platform for complex image classification tasks. This work therefore highlights the potential of VCSEL-based platforms for novel, ultrafast, all-optical neuromorphic processors interfacing with current computation and communication systems for use in future light-enabled AI and computer vision functionalities.

ORCID iDs

Robertson, Joshua, Kirkland, Paul ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5905-6816, Alanis, Juan Arturo, Hejda, Matěj ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4493-9426, Bueno, Julián, Di Caterina, Gaetano ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7256-0897 and Hurtado, Antonio ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4448-9034;
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