Software-defined photonics · Stockholm
Light, programmed.
We build programmable photonic processors: the chip, the electronics that drive it, and an AI model that knows each individual chip.
66tunable interferometers on one Noor-Q 12 chip
1.2 mWto shift the phase of light by π
0.97fidelity with 8 of 56 controls switched off
6peer-reviewed papers on our processors in 2026
The platform
One instrument. Every layer.
Most photonic chips arrive as bare silicon. Ours arrive ready to run experiments.
Noor-Q 12 as a 2U rack instrument · design render
Processors
Packaged, fibre-coupled photonic chips that perform any linear optical operation you program.
Noor-Q →
Electronics
Precision drive and readback for every phase shifter on the chip, with open firmware.
Koi →
Software and Noor Twin
Control, calibration and a model of your own chip, so you program operations, not voltages.
Software →The Noor Twin
A model of your chip, not of a chip.
No two photonic chips come out of the factory the same. The Noor Twin learns each individual processor, so the operation you ask for is the operation you get. And when parts of a chip fail, it keeps the processor programmable in software.
How it helpsApplications
One processor. Many sciences.
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Quantum photonics
Multi-photon interference, quantum gates and the simulation of quantum systems.
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AI and neuromorphic
The processor as a programmable optical layer for machine learning.
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Optical links
Programmable optics for data links.
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Teaching
A photonics lab that students reprogram in software, with ready-made experiments.
In the news
What others write about our work.
KTH News14 October 2026
A new way to detect stabilizing properties of optical devices
On our Physical Review Letters paper
Read the article →Phys.org3 October 2026
Reading hidden topology in light, even when energy leaks away
On our Physical Review Letters paper
Read the article →Phys.org19 May 2026
New chip offers way to make use of quantum system ‘imperfections’
On our Nature Communications paper
Read the article →About
Born at KTH. Built for your bench.
Noor Photonics was founded in 2026 by the researchers who designed, built and published the technology. The instrument you receive is the one our own research runs on.
AE
Ali W. Elshaari
Co-founder & CEO
Associate Professor, KTH
AC
Andrea Cataldo
Co-founder · Head of software and AI
RY
Rohan Yadgirkar
Co-founder · Head of hardware
Tell us about your experiment.
Configurations, demonstrations and collaborations. We answer with physics.
Get in touch