The photonic Ising machine is a new paradigm of optical computing that takes advantage of the unique properties of light wave propagation, parallel processing, and low-loss transmission. Thus, the process of solving combinatorial optimization problems can be accelerated through photonic/optoelectronic devices. In this work, we have proposed and demonstrated the Phase Encoding and Intensity Detection Ising Annealer (PEIDIA) capable of solving arbitrary Ising problems on demand. The PEIDIA employs the heuristic algorithm and requires only one step of optical linear transformation with simplified Hamiltonian calculation by encoding the Ising spins on the phase term of the optical field and performing intensity detection during the solving process. As a proof of principle, several 20 and 30-spin Ising problems have been solved with high ground state probability (≥0.97/0.85 for the 20/30-spin Ising model).
National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFB2200402,2017YFA0303700); National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61875101); Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences; Beijing National Research Center For Information Science And Technology; Frontier Science Center for Quantum Information of the Ministry of Education of China; Tsinghua Initiative Scientific Research Program; Huawei Technologies