λλ: A Programming Language That Makes Silicon Photonics Compile

λλ: A Programming Language for Silicon Photonics

Researchers from Cornell University and Nysernet present λλ, a programming language for silicon photonics that uses a linear type system to enforce the physical constraints of optics, rejecting unrealizable programs at compile time. The compiler maps well-typed programs onto arbitrary photonic switches while minimizing signal loss, scaling to switches with over 100,000 elements. It handles circuit switching, rotor switching, and analog in-network computation, and includes a synthesizer for automatic program generation.