We are pleased to announce and invite you to one of our weekly online zoom events.
 

AI-driven design of wavefront-shaping patterns for optical computing and networking

Optical interconnects can accelerate deep neural network training by 1.3–9.1× over electrical fabrics, yet widespread adoption of Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) is limited. This stems from three challenges: (1) Reliability: Current OCS hardware uses high-voltage MEMS or piezo actuators incompatible with CMOS backplanes. (2) Scalability: Ray optics-based designs have large form factors that prevent cost-effective scaling. (3) Flexibility: Existing solutions offer restricted topologies that demand custom network fabrics. We address these issues by using wave optics with distributed light modulation. Our approach employs AI to control millions of pixels, replacing discrete mirrors to steer light. This method enables CMOS-compatible, low-voltage operation and has achieved the first demonstration of nonblocking switching in a distributed modulation architecture. Finally, we will discuss how this architecture functions as an optical neural network, highlighting the convergence of communication and neural network computing.

Speaker

Dr. Niyazi Ulas Dinç, ZigZag
Niyazi Ulas Dinç is a scientific collaborator at the Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. He is concurrently involved with Zigzag Networks, a forthcoming EPFL start-up developing optical circuit switches. He earned his BSc degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, and his MSc in Microengineering from EPFL. He also completed his PhD at EPFL, where his thesis focused on 3D diffractive optics for linear interconnects and nonlinear processing, with applications in optical computing and networking for AI workloads. 

Moderator

Dr. Christian Bosshard, Managing Director Swissphotonics
Dr. Christian Bosshard received his degree in Physics (1986) and his doctorate (1991, Silver medal award) from ETH. From 2001-2021 he was working at CSEM, first as Section Head and then as Vice President and Head Photonics. Since 2013 he is Managing Director of Swissphotonics. Christian is a Fellow of Optica, former Board Member of EPIC, and Member of the Board of the University of Basel.

Date
Tuesday, 21 October 2025

Time
12:00 - 12:45

Software
Zoom

Costs
free of charge

Registration only necessary once
This event series requires registration (see link above). We will send you the access information (Zoom-link and ID) by email after the registration. As the Zoom link remains the same every week, you do not need to register again for the following meetings.

Contact ZigZag
Dr. Niyazi Ulas Dinç

Contact Swissphotonics
Dr. Christian Bosshard
Managing Director Swissphotonics
+41 79 405 1826

26 September 2025, Christian Bosshard