Emerging Trends in Optical Neural Networks

Dear Colleagues,

In this era of technological evolution, optical neural networks are experiencing significant growth, primarily driven by the growing demands of artificial intelligence and neuromorphic computing. The inherent limitations of digital electronic hardware, characterized by its central processor and separated memory, beckon a shift towards non-von Neumann computing architectures. These architectures promise massively distributed, parallel processing capabilities, paving the way for applications demanding low latency, high bandwidth, and energy efficiency. Optical neural networks leverage the speed, bandwidth, and parallel processing capabilities of light to accelerate computational tasks, particularly those inherent to deep learning and artificial intelligence applications. Applications range from high-performance computing and optimization problem-solving to deep learning acceleration and quantum processing. The advancement of this field is fueled by breakthroughs in photonic integration and semiconductor manufacturing, yet achieving a viable optical processor necessitates further developments in materials, devices, architectures, software, and packaging techniques.

This Special Issue aims to showcase the latest research, breakthroughs, and innovations in the field of optical neural networks. Theoretical, numerical, and experimental papers are accepted. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Multiwavelength neural networks;
• Coherent networks;
• Spiking neural networks;
• Free-space neural networks;
• Nonlinear activation functions;
• Hardware algorithms;
• Applications.

Dr. Xiaoxuan Ma
Dr. Hao Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• neural networks
• photonic networks
• optoelectronic devices
• neuromorphic photonics
• optical neural networks
• convolutional neural network
• matrix–matrix multiplication