Is a neural network really a neural network if there are no neurons? And for that matter, when we talk about neural networks in photonics, what specific action should a photonic component actually implement? Neither the human brain nor the different neural network concepts make due with a single neuron type, and in this context Jha et al. have integrated a reconfigurable all-optical neuron on a standard silicon photonics platform that accommodates such diversity. The authors leverage the interplay between only three standard photonic components to facilitate the most relevant neuronal activation functions in a single package. Such a re-programmable universal photonic neuron might be key towards more general-purpose photonic neural network architectures, and the demonstrated results are an important step for future neural network processors leveraging integrated photonics.

---

---

 Add Comment

You must log in to add comments.