In this two-hour tutorial, Wim Bogaerts give an introduction into the field of programmable photonic chips. While photonic chips today are already widely used in optical communication, they are not yet fulfillling their potential in other domains. Programmable photonics provide a new class of photonic chips where the functionality can be reconfigured in software. This can be a game-changer for research, experimentation and innovation in photonics.
The tutorial explains the basic concepts of information processing with light, how this can be done on a chip, and what technological developments are needed to build a fully functional photonic processor.