Abstract
An optical system called the optical expander is described and investigated. The optical expander electro-optically expands an optical Boolean pattern encoded in d bits into an optical pattern of size N bits. It is assumed that d is equal to c log2 N for some constant c, and each expanded pattern is orthogonal to the others. Two different architectures to implement the optical expander are described: one uses an optical matrix–vector multiplier and an array of N threshold devices; the other uses log2 N novel reflection–transmission switching cells. These architectures are analyzed in terms of size, energy requirement, and speed. The optical expander described utilizes high-speed and high-space–bandwidth-product connections that are provided by optical beams in three dimensions. Potential applications, holographic memory, and message routing systems are also discussed.
© 1993 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Ramamohan Paturi, Dau-Tsuong Lu, Joseph E. Ford, Sadik C. Esener, and Sing H. Lee
Appl. Opt. 30(8) 917-927 (1991)
Richard Barakat and John Reif
Appl. Opt. 26(6) 1015-1018 (1987)
De-Gui Sun, Na-Xin Wang, Li-Ming He, Zhen-Wu Lu, and Zhao-Heng Weng
Appl. Opt. 32(35) 7184-7193 (1993)