New Zealand researchers publish scalable quantum-inspired optical computing breakthrough in Nature Communications

New Zealand researchers have published findings on a scalable optical computing device in Nature Communications. The study was led by Research Fellow Dr Liam Quinn at the Dodd-Walls Centre along with collaborators Professors Stephane Coen and Miro Erkintalo, Associate Professor Stuart Murdoch and Research Fellow Dr Yiqing Xu. It describes a Coherent Ising Machine that uses pulses of laser light circulating in a closed optical fibre loop. The device relies on spontaneous polarization symmetry breaking in a coherently driven fibre Kerr nonlinear resonator. Light pulses settle into high or low intensity states that can be read with standard telecom components. The system solves optimization problems by allowing quantum-inspired interactions to find preferred configurations. It operates continuously at room temperature for over an hour and has scaled to 1000 pulses. Researchers say the platform is stable and energy efficient because it uses natural optical dynamics to explore solutions. Potential uses include financial modelling, drug design, scheduling, traffic routing, protein folding and AI optimization. The project is funded by the Marsden fund and operates under the Dodd-Walls Centre Quantum Technologies Aotearoa programme. Next steps involve coding and chip manipulation to improve performance and stability. Quinn has expressed interest in working with organizations that have optimization problems to solve.