New Approaches to Reconfigurable Optical Interconnections for Optical Computing
Abstract
This report covers the period from October 1, 1987 through September 30, 1988, the first year under the contract. The objective of this effort is to define and evaluate new approaches to two-dimensional arrays of reconfigurable optical interconnections for optical computing. The emphasis is on optically controlled optical beam directors or switches which can be fabricated into high density 2-D arrays. The proposed applications in optical neural computers and other types of optical computers require reconfiguration speeds on the order of microseconds. The emphasis is therefore on devices and nonlinear optical materials with response times of microseconds but with the potential for high packing density. The approach to this research has two components: i. nonlinear optical materials; and ii. optically controlled optical switching devices which can be integrated into 2-D arrays. The materials work stresses the transport assisted optical nonlinear materials since this is the only class of materials which exhibit a sufficiently large nonlinearity, in the response time required, and with a relatively low optical energy required. In these materials, optically excited electric charge is separated by an electric field to create a space charge field which reduces the total electric field.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA201307
Entities
People
- William H. Steier
Organizations
- University of Southern California