Abstract: An optical notching filter in which a band of radio frequencies such as the RF input of a radio receiver is an input signal. The input signal modulates a laser beam and the modulated beam is optically Fourier transformed. A programmable optical notching filter spatially filters the electromagnetic interference noise from the transformed beam and the thus filtered beam is optically inverse Fourier transformed. A photo-combining of the filtered beam with a focused laser local oscillator beam down-converts the filtered beam to the original input signal minus electromagnetic interference.

Abstract: An optical recursive filtering system in which a signal beam of optical radiation is passed through the optical filtering means a multiplicity of times. The filtering system has an optical Fourier transform means, a spatial filter, optical inverse Fourier transform means and a pair of reflectors in the Fourier plane of the spatial filter. An input signal beam to be filtered is optically Fourier transformed by the transform means and is passed through the spatial filter where unwanted frequencies of the signal beam are attenuated. The filtered beam is reflected by one of the reflectors back through the filter and the second mirror reflects it back through the filter a third time. Subsequent reflections back through the filter with a consequent further filtering of the signal beam can be accomplished by appropriately positioning the reflectors. After multiple filtering passes, the filtered beam is extracted for utilization.

Abstract: An optical notching or filtering system in which a beam of optical radiation is passed through the optical filtering means a multiplicity of times. The optical filtering means has an optical Fourier transform means, a spatial filter, optical inverse Fourier transform means, and a reflector array. After an input optical signal beam undergoes a filtering pass by being directed through the transform means, the filter, and the inverse transform means, the reflector array re-introduces the beam for a multiplicity of subsequent filtering passes. Four embodiments of the system of the invention having various configurations of the reflector arrays for use with one- and two-dimensional spatial filters are disclosed. The various embodiments are set forth as being used in a heterodyning optical notching filter system.