Abstract: In some embodiments, techniques for creating fabricable segmented designs for physical devices are provided. A proposed segmented design is determined based on a design specification. The proposed segmented design includes a plurality of segments that each includes an indication of a material for the segment. The proposed segmented design also includes lattice members and lattice voids. A size of the lattice members and a size of the lattice voids are greater than a size of the segments and are greater than or equal to at least one of a minimum feature width and a minimum feature spacing of a fabrication system Performance of the proposed segmented design is simulated. One or more lattice members and lattice voids are chosen to change to improve the performance of the proposed segmented design.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for modeling fabrication constraints of a fabrication process is described. The method includes receiving training data including pre-fabrication structures and post-fabrication, training a fabrication constraint model by optimizing parameters of the fabrication constraint model based on the training data to model the fabrication constraints of the fabrication process, receiving an input design corresponding to a physical device, and generating a fabricability metric of the input design via the fabrication constraint model. The fabricability metric is related to a probabilistic certainty that the input design is fabricable by the fabrication process determined by the fabrication constraint model.

Abstract: In some embodiments, logic stored on a computer-readable medium, in response to execution, causes a computing system to conduct an inverse design process to generate a plurality of segmented designs corresponding to a plurality of device specifications, determine at least one highly impactful design area based on the plurality of segmented designs; and designate the at least one highly impactful design area as a static design area. In some embodiments, a product line comprising a plurality of physical devices is provided. Each physical device of the plurality of physical devices includes a design region that includes a static design area and a customized design area. The static design area for each physical device is the same for each physical device of the plurality of physical devices, and the customized design area for each physical device is different for each physical device of the plurality of physical devices.

Abstract: A multi-channel photonic demultiplexer includes an input region to receive a multi-channel optical signal including four distinct wavelength channels, four output regions, each adapted to receive a corresponding one of the four distinct wavelength channels demultiplexed from the multi-channel optical signal, and a dispersive region optically disposed between the input region and the four output regions. The dispersive region includes a first material and a second material inhomogeneously interspersed to form a plurality of interfaces that each correspond to a change in refractive index of the dispersive region and collectively structure the dispersive region to optically separate each of the four distinct wavelength channels from the multi-channel optical signal and respectively guide each of the four distinct wavelength channels to the corresponding one of the four output regions.

Abstract: A two-channel photonic demultiplexer includes an input region to receive a multi-channel optical signal, two output regions, each adapted to receive a corresponding one of two distinct wavelength channels demultiplexed from the multi-channel optical signal, and a dispersive region including a first material and a second material inhomogeneously interspersed to form a plurality of interfaces that collectively structure the dispersive region to optically separate each of the two distinct wavelength channels from the multi-channel optical signal and respectively guide the first distinct wavelength channel to a first output region and the second distinct wavelength channel to the second output region when the input region receives the multi-channel optical signal. At least one of the first material or the second material is structured within the dispersive region to be schematically reproducible by a feature shape with a pre-determined width.

Abstract: A system, apparatus, and method for optimizing structural parameters of a physical device are described. The method includes receiving an initial description of the physical device describing the structural parameters within a simulated environment. The method further includes performing a simulation of the physical device in response to an excitation source to determine a performance metric of the physical device. The simulation environment includes one or more absorbing boundaries for attenuation of an output of the excitation source during the simulation. The method further includes recording attenuated field values of the simulated environment associated with the attenuation during the simulation.

Abstract: In some embodiments, logic stored on a computer-readable medium, in response to execution, causes a computing system to conduct an inverse design process to generate a plurality of segmented designs corresponding to a plurality of device specifications, determine at least one highly impactful design area based on the plurality of segmented designs; and designate the at least one highly impactful design area as a static design area. In some embodiments, a product line comprising a plurality of physical devices is provided. Each physical device of the plurality of physical devices includes a design region that includes a static design area and a customized design area. The static design area for each physical device is the same for each physical device of the plurality of physical devices, and the customized design area for each physical device is different for each physical device of the plurality of physical devices.

Abstract: In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method for creating a fabricable segmented design for a physical device is provided. A computing system receives a design specification. The computing system generates a proposed segmented design based on the design specification. The computing system determines two or more loss values based on the proposed segmented design. The computing system combines the two or more loss values to create a combined loss value. The computing system creates an updated design specification using the combined loss value. At least some of the generating, determining, combining, and creating actions are repeated until a fabricable segmented design is generated.

Abstract: At least one machine-accessible storage medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a machine, will cause the machine to perform operations. The operations comprise configuring a simulated environment to be representative of a physical device based, at least in part, on an initial description of the physical device that described structural parameters of the physical device. The operations further comprise performing a physics simulation with an artificial intelligence (“AI”) accelerator. The AI accelerator includes a matrix multiply unit for computing convolution operations via a plurality of multiply-accumulate units. The operations further comprise computing a field response in response of the physical device in response to an excitation source within the simulated environment when performing the physics simulation. The field response is computed, at least in part, with the convolution operations to perform spatial differencing.

Abstract: A method of optimizing structural parameters of a physical device includes: receiving an initial description of the physical device that describes the physical device with an array of voxels that each describe one or more of the structural parameters; performing a time-forward simulation of a field response propagating through the physical device and interacting with the voxels in a simulated environment, wherein the field response is influenced by the structural parameters of the voxels; generating field response values describing the field response at each of the voxels for each of a plurality of time steps; encoding the field response values to generate compressed field response values; storing the compressed field response values; decoding one or more of the compressed field response values to extract regenerated field response values; and generating a revised description of the physical device having a structural parameter optimized.

Abstract: In some embodiments, logic stored on a computer-readable medium, in response to execution, causes a computing system to conduct an inverse design process to generate a plurality of segmented designs corresponding to a plurality of device specifications, determine at least one highly impactful design area based on the plurality of segmented designs; and designate the at least one highly impactful design area as a static design area. In some embodiments, a product line comprising a plurality of physical devices is provided. Each physical device of the plurality of physical devices includes a design region that includes a static design area and a customized design area. The static design area for each physical device is the same for each physical device of the plurality of physical devices, and the customized design area for each physical device is different for each physical device of the plurality of physical devices.

Abstract: Embodiments of techniques for inverse design of physical devices are described herein, in the context of generating designs for photonic integrated circuits (including a multi-channel photonic demultiplexer). In some embodiments, an initial design of the physical device is received, and a plurality of sets of operating conditions for fabrication of the physical device are determined. In some embodiments, the performance of the physical device as fabricated under the sets of operating conditions is simulated, and a total performance loss value is backpropagated to determine a gradient to be used to update the initial design. In some embodiments, instead of simulating fabrication of the physical device under the sets of operating conditions, a robustness loss is determined and combined with the performance loss to determine the gradient.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for revising structural parameters of a physical device is provided. The method comprises configuring a simulated environment to be representative of the physical device based on an initial description that describes structural parameters of the physical device. The method further includes performing an operational simulation of the physical device based on training data representative of physical stimuli within a physical domain to simulate an interaction between the physical device and the physical stimuli. The method further includes computing a loss value based on a simulated output of the physical device and performing and adjoint simulation by backpropagating the loss value through the simulated environment. The method also includes generating a revised description of the physical device by updating the structural parameters to reduce the loss value.

Abstract: A technique for simulating and optimizing the fabrication and design of a physical device is described. The technique includes executing a fabrication simulation of the physical device with a fabrication model that receives a fabrication specification as input and outputs a structural design for the physical device in response to the fabrication simulation. An operational simulation of the physical device is executed with a design model that simulates a field response propagating through a simulated environment of the physical device. The structural design output from the fabrication model is forward cascaded to the design model and an output from backpropagation of a performance loss error through the design model is reverse cascaded to the fabrication model.

Abstract: In some embodiments, techniques for creating fabricable segmented designs for physical devices are provided. A proposed segmented design is determined based on a design specification. The proposed segmented design includes a plurality of segments that each includes an indication of a material for the segment. The proposed segmented design also includes lattice members and lattice voids. A size of the lattice members and a size of the lattice voids are greater than a size of the segments and are greater than or equal to at least one of a minimum feature width and a minimum feature spacing of a fabrication system Performance of the proposed segmented design is simulated. One or more lattice members and lattice voids are chosen to change to improve the performance of the proposed segmented design.

Abstract: A multi-channel photonic demultiplexer includes an input region to receive a multi-channel optical signal including four distinct wavelength channels, four output regions, each adapted to receive a corresponding one of the four distinct wavelength channels demultiplexed from the multi-channel optical signal, and a dispersive region optically disposed between the input region and the four output regions. The dispersive region includes a first material and a second material inhomogeneously interspersed to form a plurality of interfaces that each correspond to a change in refractive index of the dispersive region and collectively structure the dispersive region to optically separate each of the four distinct wavelength channels from the multi-channel optical signal and respectively guide each of the four distinct wavelength channels to the corresponding one of the four output regions.

Abstract: A system for physically simulating a neural network is described herein. The system includes a plurality of physical voxels configurable to represent nodes of the neural network operating in response to electromagnetic radiation. Each of the physical voxels includes an impedance adjuster, a field detector, and a signal adjuster. The impedance adjuster adjusts impedance to the electromagnetic radiation within a corresponding one of the physical voxels. Weights between nodes of the neural network are based on the adjusted impedance. The field detector measures local field response within the corresponding one of the physical voxels. The local field response is representative of the electromagnetic radiation with the adjusted impedance. The signal adjuster is coupled to receive the local field response and apply an adjustment to the received local field response. The adjustment corresponds to an activation function of the neural network at the corresponding one of the physical voxels.

Abstract: Embodiments of techniques for inverse design of physical devices are described herein, in the context of generating designs for photonic integrated circuits (including a multi-channel photonic demultiplexer). In some embodiments, an initial design of the physical device is received, and a plurality of sets of operating conditions for fabrication of the physical device are determined. In some embodiments, the performance of the physical device as fabricated under the sets of operating conditions is simulated, and a total performance loss value is backpropagated to determine a gradient to be used to update the initial design. In some embodiments, instead of simulating fabrication of the physical device under the sets of operating conditions, a robustness loss is determined and combined with the performance loss to determine the gradient.

Abstract: A physical voxel, a volumetric testbed, and method for physically simulating a photonic device are described herein. The volumetric testbed comprises a simulation stage and a controller. The simulation stage includes a three-dimensional array of physical voxels configurable to represent the photonic device operating in response to electromagnetic radiation. The physical voxels include a field detector to measure a local field response and an impedance adjuster to adjust an impedance to the electromagnetic radiation. The controller is coupled to memory, which stores instructions that when executed by one or more processors included in the controller causes the volumetric testbed to perform operations including determining a global field response of the photonic device and adjusting the impedance of the physical voxels to refine a design of the photonic device.

Abstract: A multi-channel photonic demultiplexer includes an input region to receive a multi-channel optical signal including four distinct wavelength channels, four output regions, each adapted to receive a corresponding one of the four distinct wavelength channels demultiplexed from the multi-channel optical signal, and a dispersive region optically disposed between the input region and the four output regions. The dispersive region includes a first material and a second material inhomogeneously interspersed to form a plurality of interfaces that each correspond to a change in refractive index of the dispersive region and collectively structure the dispersive region to optically separate each of the four distinct wavelength channels from the multi-channel optical signal and respectively guide each of the four distinct wavelength channels to the corresponding one of the four output regions.