Feature

Optical Information Processing Using Free Space Interconnects And Smart Pixel Arrays

Leo J. Irakliotis, Rick D. Snyder, Stewart A. Feld, Fred R. Beyette, Jr., Pericles A. Mitkas, and Carl W. Wilmsen, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.

The emergence of page-oriented optical memories as viable optical storage technologies requires the development of an efficient optoelectronic interface between the memory and the electronic computer. This interface must exhibit some intelligence without substituting for the electronic processor itself. For example, the interface could filter data on-the-fly from the optical memory to the electronic computer, thus alleviating any potential bottlenecks that may arise from the different data rates used by the two technologies.