Optical ROM Architecture Using Microring Resonators for Photonic Lookup

A new photonic read-only memory (ROM) architecture, named OptiLookUp, has been proposed in a paper on arXiv (2605.03241v1). The design uses integrated microring resonators (MRRs) to encode predefined input-output mappings in the spectral response, enabling deterministic lookup-based operation without dynamic computation. To address scalability and insertion loss, the architecture employs compact banked sub-arrays selected via an optical decoding mechanism. Reconfigurability is achieved through transistor-based optical selectors, allowing different ROM banks to be activated. The work aims to realize high-bandwidth, low-latency, parallel memory access in the optical domain, overcoming challenges related to loss, wavelength control, and integration.