6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
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Deep diffractive optical neural networks for classifying orthogonal and non-orthogonal modes of light

7 Jul 2026, 12:00
20m
Lecture Hall DL1 (University of the Western Cape)

Lecture Hall DL1

University of the Western Cape

Oral Presentation Track C - Photonics Photonics

Speaker

Nikita Azevedo

Description

Artificial neural networks are well suited tools for solving complex, multi-parameter problems and have been realized using light, termed optical neural networks (ONNs) or deep diffractive neural networks (D2NN). Their conception has been motivated by the decreased energy demands of optical systems, where nature itself is able to take on some of the computational burden. These systems have demonstrated the ability to tackle an array of tasks, including the classification of light with encoded spatial patterns. Scalability, however, remains a challenge, particularly when dealing with large numbers of spatial modes or non-orthogonal input states. Here, we demonstrate a compact and reprogrammable D2NN capable of classifying and detecting orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes, including modes from non-orthogonal sets. The network is implemented using trainable phase modulation layers optimized via stochastic gradient descent. We evaluate the implementation through numerical simulation and present the results. This method underscores the potential for hybrid classical-quantum optical systems to provide a framework for scalable, cost-effective, low-latency platforms for quantum inspired computations.

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Author

Co-authors

ANDREW FORBES (U. Witwatersrand) Cade Peters Hadrian Bezuidenhout (University of the Witwatersrand) Isaac Nape (University of the Witwatersrand) Ram Kumar (University of the Witwatersrand)

Presentation materials