Simple measurements and efficient optimization of linear optical networks

In this proceeding, we describe a simulated model for the characterization of arbitrary unitary matrices implemented by an reconfigurable linear optical network. We build on the method of Hoch et. al, which itself builds on Liang et. al, for characterizing the arbitrary unitary transformation, U, implemented on such devices as an equivalent real bordered form U_rb. We disscuss how the measurement scheme requires fewer and simpler measurements than. We describe a solution that utilizes a novel algorithm to efficiently recover the complex signs of U_rb under measurement noise and scaling with system size N.