Abstract
Advanced image processing will be crucial for emerging technologies such
as autonomous driving, where the requirement to quickly recognize and
classify objects under rapidly changing, poor visibility environments in
real time will be needed. Photonic technologies will be key for
next-generation signal and information processing, due to their wide
bandwidths of 10’s of Terahertz and versatility. Here, we demonstrate
broadband real time analog image and video processing with an ultrahigh
bandwidth photonic processor that is highly versatile and
reconfigurable. It is capable of massively parallel processing over
10,000 video signals simultaneously in real time, performing key
functions needed for object recognition, such as edge enhancement and
detection. Our system, based on a soliton crystal Kerr optical
micro-comb with a 49GHz spacing with >90 wavelengths in the
C-band, is highly versatile, performing different functions without
changing the physical hardware. These results highlight the potential
for photonic processing based on Kerr microcombs for chip-scale fully
programmable high-speed real time video processing for next generation
technologies.