Patents by Inventor Marin Soljacic

Marin Soljacic has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11914415
    Abstract: An optical neural network is constructed based on photonic integrated circuits to perform neuromorphic computing. In the optical neural network, matrix multiplication is implemented using one or more optical interference units, which can apply an arbitrary weighting matrix multiplication to an array of input optical signals. Nonlinear activation is realized by an optical nonlinearity unit, which can be based on nonlinear optical effects, such as saturable absorption. These calculations are implemented optically, thereby resulting in high calculation speeds and low power consumption in the optical neural network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Jacques Johannes Carolan, Mihika Prabhu, Scott A. Skirlo, Yichen Shen, Marin Soljacic, Dirk Englund, Nicholas C. Harris
  • Patent number: 11685271
    Abstract: Described herein are embodiments of a source high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy source, a second high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy drain that may be located a distance from the source resonator. A third high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy drain that may be located a distance from the source resonator. The source resonator and at least one of the second resonator and third resonator may be coupled to transfer electromagnetic energy from said source resonator to said at least one of the second resonator and third resonator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: John D. Joannopoulos, Aristeidis Karalis, Marin Soljacic
  • Patent number: 11685270
    Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for use in wireless energy transfer, which includes a first resonator structure configured to transfer energy non-radiatively with a second resonator structure over a distance greater than a characteristic size of the second resonator structure. The non-radiative energy transfer is mediated by a coupling of a resonant field evanescent tail of the first resonator structure and a resonant field evanescent tail of the second resonator structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: MIT
    Inventors: Aristeidis Karalis, Andre B. Kurs, Robert Moffatt, John D. Joannopoulos, Peter H. Fisher, Marin Soljacic
  • Publication number: 20230045938
    Abstract: An optical neural network is constructed based on photonic integrated circuits to perform neuromorphic computing. In the optical neural network, matrix multiplication is implemented using one or more optical interference units, which can apply an arbitrary weighting matrix multiplication to an array of input optical signals. Nonlinear activation is realized by an optical nonlinearity unit, which can be based on nonlinear optical effects, such as saturable absorption. These calculations are implemented optically, thereby resulting in high calculation speeds and low power consumption in the optical neural network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Publication date: February 16, 2023
    Applicant: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Jacques Johannes CAROLAN, Mihika PRABHU, Scott A. SKIRLO, Yichen Shen, Marin SOLJACIC, DIRK ENGLUND, Nicholas C. HARRIS
  • Patent number: 11579363
    Abstract: An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar Luneburg lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes a curved (e.g., semi-circular or arced) grating coupler that diffracts the collimated beams out of the lens plane. The beams can be steered in the plane by controlling the direction along which the lens is illuminated and out of the plane by varying the beam wavelength. Unlike other beam steering devices, this device can operate over an extremely wide field of view—up to 180°—without any aberrations off boresight. In other words, the beam quality is uniform in all directions, unlike with aplanatic lenses, thanks to the circular symmetry of the planar Luneburg lens, which may be composed of subwavelength features. The lens is also robust to misalignment and fabrication imperfections and can be made using standard CMOS processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Josue Lopez, Samuel Kim, Jamison Sloan, Boris Kharas, Jeffrey Scott Herd, Marin Soljacic, Cheryl Marie Sorace-Agaskar, Suraj Deepak Bramhavar, Steven Glenn Johnson, George Barbastathis
  • Patent number: 11334107
    Abstract: An optical neural network is constructed based on photonic integrated circuits to perform neuromorphic computing. In the optical neural network, matrix multiplication is implemented using one or more optical interference units, which can apply an arbitrary weighting matrix multiplication to an array of input optical signals. Nonlinear activation is realized by an optical nonlinearity unit, which can be based on nonlinear optical effects, such as saturable absorption. These calculations are implemented optically, thereby resulting in high calculation speeds and low power consumption in the optical neural network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Jacques Johannes Carolan, Mihika Prabhu, Scott A. Skirlo, Yichen Shen, Marin Soljacic, Dirk Englund, Nicholas Christopher Harris
  • Publication number: 20220123594
    Abstract: Described herein are embodiments of a source high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy source, a second high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy drain that may be located a distance from the source resonator. A third high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy drain that may be located a distance from the source resonator. The source resonator and at least one of the second resonator and third resonator may be coupled to transfer electromagnetic energy from said source resonator to said at least one of the second resonator and third resonator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Inventors: John D. Joannopoulos, Aristeidis Karalis, Marin Soljacic
  • Publication number: 20220057573
    Abstract: An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar Luneburg lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes a curved (e.g., semi-circular or arced) grating coupler that diffracts the collimated beams out of the lens plane. The beams can be steered in the plane by controlling the direction along which the lens is illuminated and out of the plane by varying the beam wavelength. Unlike other beam steering devices, this device can operate over an extremely wide field of view—up to 180°—without any aberrations off boresight. In other words, the beam quality is uniform in all directions, unlike with aplanatic lenses, thanks to the circular symmetry of the planar Luneburg lens, which may be composed of subwavelength features. The lens is also robust to misalignment and fabrication imperfections and can be made using standard CMOS processes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Publication date: February 24, 2022
    Applicant: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Josue Lopez, Samuel Kim, Jamison Sloan, Boris KHARAS, Jeffrey Scott HERD, Marin SOLJACIC, Cheryl Marie SORACE-AGASKAR, Suraj Deepak BRAMHAVAR, Steven Glenn JOHNSON, George BARBASTATHIS
  • Publication number: 20220043323
    Abstract: An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar dielectric lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes an output coupler, such as a grating or photonic crystal, that guides the collimated beams in different directions out of the lens plane. A switch matrix controls which input port is illuminated and hence the in-plane propagation direction of the collimated beam. And a tunable light source changes the wavelength to control the angle at which the collimated beam leaves the plane of the substrate. The device is very efficient, in part because the input port (and thus in-plane propagation direction) can be changed by actuating only log2 N of the N switches in the switch matrix. It can also be much simpler, smaller, and cheaper because it needs fewer control lines than a conventional optical phased array with the same resolution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Applicant: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Scott A. SKIRLO, Cheryl Marie SORACE-AGASKAR, Marin SOLJACIC, Simon VERGHESE, Jeffrey S. HERD, Paul William JUODAWLKIS, Yi YANG, DIRK ENGLUND, Mihika PRABHU
  • Publication number: 20220012619
    Abstract: A photonic parallel network can be used to sample combinatorially hard distributions of Ising problems. The photonic parallel network, also called a photonic processor, finds the ground state of a general Ising problem and can probe critical behaviors of universality classes and their critical exponents. In addition to the attractive features of photonic networks—passivity, parallelization, high-speed and low-power—the photonic processor exploits dynamic noise that occurs during the detection process to find ground states more efficiently.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2021
    Publication date: January 13, 2022
    Applicant: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Charles ROQUES-CARMES, Yichen Shen, Li JING, Tena DUBCEK, Scott A. SKIRLO, Hengameh BAGHERIANLEMRASKI, Marin SOLJACIC
  • Patent number: 11175562
    Abstract: An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar dielectric lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes an output coupler, such as a grating or photonic crystal, that guides the collimated beams in different directions out of the lens plane. A switch matrix controls which input port is illuminated and hence the in-plane propagation direction of the collimated beam. And a tunable light source changes the wavelength to control the angle at which the collimated beam leaves the plane of the substrate. The device is very efficient, in part because the input port (and thus in-plane propagation direction) can be changed by actuating only log2 N of the N switches in the switch matrix. It can also be much simpler, smaller, and cheaper because it needs fewer control lines than a conventional optical phased array with the same resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Scott A. Skirlo, Cheryl Marie Sorace-Agaskar, Marin Soljacic, Simon Verghese, Jeffrey S. Herd, Paul William Juodawlkis, Yi Yang, Dirk Englund, Mihika Prabhu
  • Patent number: 11163116
    Abstract: An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar Luneburg lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes a curved (e.g., semi-circular or arced) grating coupler that diffracts the collimated beams out of the lens plane. The beams can be steered in the plane by controlling the direction along which the lens is illuminated and out of the plane by varying the beam wavelength. Unlike other beam steering devices, this device can operate over an extremely wide field of view—up to 180°—without any aberrations off boresight. In other words, the beam quality is uniform in all directions, unlike with aplanatic lenses, thanks to the circular symmetry of the planar Luneburg lens, which may be composed of subwavelength features. The lens is also robust to misalignment and fabrication imperfections and can be made using standard CMOS processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Josue Lopez, Samuel Kim, Jamison Sloan, Boris Kharas, Jeffrey Scott Herd, Marin Soljacic, Cheryl Marie Sorace-Agaskar, Suraj Deepak Bramhavar, Steven Glenn Johnson, George Barbastathis
  • Patent number: 11017309
    Abstract: A photonic parallel network can be used to sample combinatorially hard distributions of Ising problems. The photonic parallel network, also called a photonic processor, finds the ground state of a general Ising problem and can probe critical behaviors of universality classes and their critical exponents. In addition to the attractive features of photonic networks—passivity, parallelization, high-speed and low-power—the photonic processor exploits dynamic noise that occurs during the detection process to find ground states more efficiently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Charles Roques-Carmes, Yichen Shen, Li Jing, Tena Dubcek, Scott A. Skirlo, Hengameh Bagherianlemraski, Marin Soljacic
  • Publication number: 20210078418
    Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for use in wireless energy transfer, which includes a first resonator structure configured to transfer energy non-radiatively with a second resonator structure over a distance greater than a characteristic size of the second resonator structure. The non-radiative energy transfer is mediated by a coupling of a resonant field evanescent tail of the first resonator structure and a resonant field evanescent tail of the second resonator structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2020
    Publication date: March 18, 2021
    Inventors: Aristeidis Karalis, Andre B. Kurs, Robert Moffatt, John D. Joannopoulos, Peter H. Fisher, Marin Soljacic
  • Publication number: 20200379504
    Abstract: An optical neural network is constructed based on photonic integrated circuits to perform neuromorphic computing. In the optical neural network, matrix multiplication is implemented using one or more optical interference units, which can apply an arbitrary weighting matrix multiplication to an array of input optical signals. Nonlinear activation is realized by an optical nonlinearity unit, which can be based on nonlinear optical effects, such as saturable absorption. These calculations are implemented optically, thereby resulting in high calculation speeds and low power consumption in the optical neural network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2020
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventors: Jacques Johannes CAROLAN, Mihika PRABHU, Scott A. SKIRLO, Yichen Shen, Marin SOLJACIC, DIRK ENGLUND, Nicholas Christopher HARRIS
  • Publication number: 20200348466
    Abstract: An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar Luneburg lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes a curved (e.g., semi-circular or arced) grating coupler that diffracts the collimated beams out of the lens plane. The beams can be steered in the plane by controlling the direction along which the lens is illuminated and out of the plane by varying the beam wavelength. Unlike other beam steering devices, this device can operate over an extremely wide field of view—up to 180°—without any aberrations off boresight. In other words, the beam quality is uniform in all directions, unlike with aplanatic lenses, thanks to the circular symmetry of the planar Luneburg lens, which may be composed of subwavelength features. The lens is also robust to misalignment and fabrication imperfections and can be made using standard CMOS processes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Publication date: November 5, 2020
    Inventors: Josue Lopez, Samuel Kim, Jamison Sloan, Boris KHARAS, Jeffrey Scott HERD, Paul William JUODAWLKIS, Marin SOLJACIC, Cheryl Marie SORACE-AGASKAR, Suraj Deepak BRAMHAVAR, Steven Glenn JOHNSON, George BARBASTATHIS
  • Publication number: 20200343771
    Abstract: Described herein are embodiments of a source high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy source, a second high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy drain that may be located a distance from the source resonator. A third high-Q resonator, optionally coupled to an energy drain that may be located a distance from the source resonator. The source resonator and at least one of the second resonator and third resonator may be coupled to transfer electromagnetic energy from said source resonator to said at least one of the second resonator and third resonator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2020
    Publication date: October 29, 2020
    Inventors: John D. Joannopoulos, Aristeidis Karalis, Marin Soljacic
  • Publication number: 20200333683
    Abstract: An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar dielectric lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes an output coupler, such as a grating or photonic crystal, that guides the collimated beams in different directions out of the lens plane. A switch matrix controls which input port is illuminated and hence the in-plane propagation direction of the collimated beam. And a tunable light source changes the wavelength to control the angle at which the collimated beam leaves the plane of the substrate. The device is very efficient, in part because the input port (and thus in-plane propagation direction) can be changed by actuating only log2 N of the N switches in the switch matrix. It can also be much simpler, smaller, and cheaper because it needs fewer control lines than a conventional optical phased array with the same resolution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2020
    Publication date: October 22, 2020
    Inventors: Scott A. SKIRLO, Cheryl Marie SORACE-AGASKAR, Marin SOLJACIC, Simon VERGHESE, Jeffrey S. HERD, Paul William JUODAWLKIS, Yi YANG, DIRK ENGLUND, Mihika PRABHU
  • Patent number: 10785858
    Abstract: An apparatus includes at least one conductive layer, an electromagnetic (EM) wave source, and an electron source. The conductive layer has a thickness less than 5 nm. The electromagnetic (EM) wave source is in electromagnetic communication with the at least one conductive layer and transmits a first EM wave at a first wavelength in the at least one conductive layer so as to generate a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) field near a surface of the at least one conductive layer. The electron source propagates an electron beam at least partially in the SPP field so as to generate a second EM wave at a second wavelength less than the first wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Ido Kaminer, Liang Jie Wong, Ognjen Ilic, Yichen Shen, John Joannopoulos, Marin Soljacic
  • Patent number: 10768659
    Abstract: An optical neural network is constructed based on photonic integrated circuits to perform neuromorphic computing. In the optical neural network, matrix multiplication is implemented using one or more optical interference units, which can apply an arbitrary weighting matrix multiplication to an array of input optical signals. Nonlinear activation is realized by an optical nonlinearity unit, which can be based on nonlinear optical effects, such as saturable absorption. These calculations are implemented optically, thereby resulting in high calculation speeds and low power consumption in the optical neural network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Jacques Johannes Carolan, Mihika Prabhu, Scott A. Skirlo, Yichen Shen, Marin Soljacic, Nicholas Christopher Harris, Dirk Englund