Abstract: A simple yet high performance optical system is described which is tailored to enabling efficient detection of the luminescence emissions of near infrared-to-visible upconverting phosphors. The system is comprised of simple and relatively low cost optical components and is designed to telecentrically enable low optical power NIR excitation and high sensitivity VIS and NIR detection of the upconverting phosphor (UCPs), particularly the lanthanide doped UCP nanocrystals which show great promise for utility as molecular taggants in many applications of biomedicine, security and environmental monitoring. The overall system is designed to facilitate compact spectrophotometric instrument manufacture and is adaptable to multiple liquid or solid sample types and formats.

Abstract: A virtual distributed optical crossbar local area network configuration where the central switch or network controller has been eliminated. A virtual distributed optical crossbar allows a network to be fully scalable as the number of users increases. The virtual distributed optical crossbar is fully non-blocking and is reconfigurable. In addition the virtual distributed optical crossbar has zero latency across the network, employs vertical cavity surface emitting laser technology and smart pixel technology in conjunction with a resonant cavity enhanced (RCE) waveguide grating coupler (WGC). Optical signals are transmitted through fiber optic and/or waveguide or freespace interconnects implementing the switching functions. The waveguide technology provides the enabling mechanism to achieve a zero latency, fully non-blocking, performance. Address decoding functions between processors is divided, leaving only the true distance interconnect implemented by optical means.

Abstract: A virtual distributed optical crossbar local area network configuration where the central switch or network controller has been eliminated. A virtual distributed optical crossbar allows a network to be fully scalable as the number of users increases. The virtual distributed optical crossbar is fully non-blocking and is reconfigurable. In addition the virtual distributed optical crossbar has zero latency across the network, employs vertical cavity surface emitting laser technology and smart pixel technology in conjunction with a resonant cavity enhanced (RCE) waveguide grating coupler (WGC). Optical signals are transmitted through fiber optic and/or waveguide or freespace interconnects implementing the switching functions. The waveguide technology provides the enabling mechanism to achieve a zero latency, fully non-blocking, performance. Address decoding functions between processors is divided, leaving only the true distance interconnect implemented by optical means.

Abstract: An architecture for an optical computing apparatus which utilizes global free space smart optical interconnects and is based on a digital logic family derived from augmenting semiconductor technology with optical logic. The apparatus comprises input means, control means, and detector means, where the detector means includes means for detecting an optical input signal, electronically amplifying and selectively negating the detected signal, and providing an optical output signal. The architecture is capable of providing outputs which are Boolean logical AND/OR operations on designated combinations of binary input bits, and in another embodiment is capable of forming the combinatorial functionals and summations into which an arbitrary user instruction may be decomposed by means of Shannon's theorem and DeMorgan's laws.

Abstract: An architecture for an optical computing apparatus which utilizes global free space smart optical interconnects and is based on a digital logic family derived from augmenting semiconductor technology with optical logic. The apparatus comprises input means, control means, and detector means, where the detector means includes means for detecting an optical input signal, electronically amplifying and selectively negating the detected signal, and providing an optical output signal. The architecture is capable of providing outputs which are Boolean logical AND/OR operations on designated combinations of binary input bits, and in another embodiment is capable of forming the combinatorial functionals and summations into which an arbitrary user instruction may be decomposed by means of Shannon's theorem and DeMorgan's laws.

Abstract: A general purpose optical computer in which bits of a control vectors are optically ANDed with bits of a data vector in a vector-vector operation, and in which the results of the optical AND operations are ORed by way of threshold detectors to form combinatorial functionals and combinatorial summations, where the combinatorial functionals and combinatorial summations generated implement a user designated instruction. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of detectors are provided, and a plurality of control words are input to the control operator means to form a control mask which operates upon the input bits provided to the light source means. Each control word interacts with the input bits and the result of such interaction is focused on a different detector. In this manner a substantial number of functionals and/or summations can be formed in parallel and operating upon very wide input words.

Abstract: A general purpose optical computer in which bits of a control vectors are optically ANDed with bits of a data vector in a vector-vector operation, and in which the results of the optical AND operations are ORed by way of threshold detectors to form combinatorial functionals and combinatorial summations, where the combinatorial functionals and combinatorial summations generated implement a user designated instruction. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of detectors are provided, and a plurality of control words are input to the control operator means for form a control mask which operates upon the input bits provided to the light source means. Each control word interacts with the input bits and the result of such interaction is focused on a different detector. In this manner a substantial number of functionals and/or summations can be formed in parallel and operating upon very wide input words.

Abstract: An optical computer apparatus and method in which binary operations are implemented by utilizing optical elements to perform AND-OR-INVERT operations of the binary operation and combinatorial logic elements perform the remaining operations. Preferably, a pair of acousto-optic cells are energized by binary data, which data are supplied by combinatorial logic, and which cells modulate light rays that are focused on detectors which determine the presence or absence of light. The particular combination of data supplied by the combinatorial logic is a function of the operations remaining in the desired binary operation once any AND-OR-INVERT functions have been implemented by way of optical structures. Further, the propagational time through the acousto-optic cells is utilized to implement systolic type implementations of binary functions.

Abstract: An optical computing apparatus and method for high speed multiplication of numerical array, wherein the arrays to be multiplied are arranged according to a systolic processing or engagement processing format, and wherein the element multiplication is performed by analog convolution. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the multiplication is implemented with first and second spacial light modulated devices which provide the selected processing format in one spacial dimension and binary multiplication by analog convolution in a second spacial dimension.