Optical Interferometer Time-Space Multiplexing for Lower Hardware Overhead

The patent introduces a temporal dimension by implementing delay lines that store optical signals in the time domain. This allows the same spatial hardware structures to be reused across multiple time steps, transforming a purely spatial architecture into a spatio-temporal one. The delay lines enable signals to be held and reprocessed, effectively adding a time dimension to the computational space.

The patent merges spatial multiplexing (multiple optical paths and components) with temporal multiplexing (delay lines and time-dependent routing) into a unified architecture. This combination allows the system to achieve higher processing capability by reusing the same hardware structures across different time steps, rather than requiring separate dedicated structures for each computational function.

The patent implements periodic action through time-dependent routing and control switches that cycle through different configurations. The system uses periodic switching to direct optical signals through different paths at different time steps, allowing the same physical hardware to perform multiple computational functions sequentially. This temporal cycling enables high processing capacity without requiring proportionally large hardware arrays.

The patent changes the operational parameters of the optical system by introducing time-varying control of switches and modulators. By dynamically adjusting routing parameters and signal timing, the system achieves flexible reconfiguration of the optical network, allowing the same hardware to adapt to different computational requirements without physical reconfiguration or additional components.

The patent uses delay lines to create temporal copies of optical signals, allowing the same signal to be processed multiple times at different time steps. Instead of requiring separate hardware paths for each processing operation, the system creates time-delayed copies of the input signals and routes them through the same computational structures sequentially, dramatically reducing hardware overhead.

The patent implements universal, reconfigurable optical structures that can perform multiple computational functions depending on the switching configuration. The same array of beam splitters and modulators can be reconfigured through time-dependent control to implement different unitary transformations, making the hardware universally applicable to various computational tasks without requiring task-specific dedicated structures.