The spatial complexity of optical computing: toward space-efficient design.

ABSTRACT: Similar to algorithms, which consume time and memory to run, hardware requires resources to function. For devices processing physical waves, implementing operations needs sufficient "space," as dictated by wave physics. How much space is needed to perform a certain function is a fundamental question in optics, with recent research addressing it for given mathematical operations, but not for more general computing tasks, e.g., classification. Inspired by computational complexity theory, we study the "spatial complexity" of optical computing systems in terms of scaling laws-specifically, how their physical dimensions must scale as the dimension of the mathematical operation increases-and propose a new paradigm for designing optical computing systems: space-efficient neuromorphic optics, base

SUBMITTER: Li Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12480471 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature