On-chip optical spatial-domain integrator based on Fourier optics and metasurface

Analog optical computing has been an innovation and research interest in last several years, thanks to the ultra-high speed (potential for real-time processing), ultra-low power consumption and capability of parallel processing. Although great efforts have been made recently, no on-chip optical spatial-domain integrator has been experimentally demonstrated, to the best of our knowledge. Based on Fourier optics and metasurface, we design and fabricate an on-chip optical integrator using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. The proposed integrator is able to integrate the electric field in spatial domain. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, a representative optical signal is well integrated to the desired distribution. Compared with theoretical expectation, the similarity coefficients of the simulated and experimental results are 83 and 78%, respectively. The proposed scheme has potential of performing more complex and ultra-high-speed computing for artificial intelligence.