WDM-Enabled Multi-core Parallel Programmable Photonic Signal Processor

WDM-Enabled Multi-core Parallel Programmable Photonic Signal Processor | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article WDM-Enabled Multi-core Parallel Programmable Photonic Signal Processor Minming Zhang, Zihang Yang, Yunlong Li, Shuang Zheng, Senyu Zhang, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8381374/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract As a frontier in integrated photonics, programmable photonic processors based on two-dimensional waveguide meshes offer compact, reconfigurable platforms capable of performing a wide range of optical functions from spectral filtering to matrix computation, without requiring custom fabrication cycles. However, state-of-the-art Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI)-based architectures suffer from inherent limitations: the physical footprint of the MZI unit limits both the achievable free spectral range (FSR) and the scalability toward wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), while parallelism relies solely on spatial routing, failing to fully exploit the wavelength domain and thus limiting functional versatility. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a WDM-enabled multi-core parallel programmable photonic signal processor implemented on a reconfigurable hexagonal mesh topology, in which each MZI incorporates over-coupled microring resonators (MRRs) in both arms. This MRR-assisted MZI architecture provides wavelength-selective phase and amplitude control at the unit level, enabling a substantially higher degree of WDM parallelism while extending the programmable FSR to 1 THz and reducing the tuning power to only 4.3 mW/π. By jointly exploiting spatial and wavelength dimensions, the processor supports genuine multi-threaded execution of multiple tasks on a single chip, with seamless WDM compatibility that lies beyond the capabilities of conventional MZI-based meshes. We demonstrate the versatility of this architecture through a broad range of experiments, including flex-grid elastic WDM, tunable optical filtering, parallel optical computation, WDM-enabled image convolution, and wavelength-dependent tunable delay lines for dual-beam microwave-photonic beamforming. These results establish WDM-enabled multi-core programmable photonic processing as a promising route toward large-scale, multifunctional, and highly parallel integrated photonic systems. Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Optical materials and structures/Silicon photonics Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Applied optics/Optoelectronic devices and components Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementary20251217.pdf WDM-Enabled Multi-core Parallel Programmable Photonic Signal Processor Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8381374","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":573860326,"identity":"303f0e95-ea1f-4a8c-a955-96612f840e74","order_by":0,"name":"Minming 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However, state-of-the-art Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI)-based architectures suffer from inherent limitations: the physical footprint of the MZI unit limits both the achievable free spectral range (FSR) and the scalability toward wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), while parallelism relies solely on spatial routing, failing to fully exploit the wavelength domain and thus limiting functional versatility. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a WDM-enabled multi-core parallel programmable photonic signal processor implemented on a reconfigurable hexagonal mesh topology, in which each MZI incorporates over-coupled microring resonators (MRRs) in both arms. This MRR-assisted MZI architecture provides wavelength-selective phase and amplitude control at the unit level, enabling a substantially higher degree of WDM parallelism while extending the programmable FSR to 1 THz and reducing the tuning power to only 4.3 mW/π. 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