Patent ID: 11875272
Assignee: REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  B  H | IPC B  G  H

Claim 19:
20. A method of solving a combinatorial optimization problem (COP) comprising:
forming a spin network mapping of a graph representing the COP using compute engine circuitry, the circuitry comprising:
a plurality of ring oscillator cells, each comprising:
a ring oscillator having an oscillator output;
at least one coupling block, each coupling block connecting the ring oscillator of the cell to the ring oscillator of one of a plurality of neighboring cells to form a coupled ring oscillator; and
a read block configured to generate a state output for each coupled ring oscillator that includes the ring oscillator of the cell, the state output indicating whether the coupled ring oscillator is in one of a same-phase state, in which the connected ring oscillators oscillate in phase with each other, and an opposite-phase state, in which the connected ring oscillators oscillate in an opposite phase from each other; and

a controller,
wherein vertices of the spin network mapping of the COP are represented by the state outputs, and edges of the spin network mapping of the COP are represented by connections between the coupled ring oscillators; and

outputting a total energy estimate of the mapping, which is representative of a solution to the problem, based on the state outputs using the controller.