Ultra-fast optical logic devices
US4932739A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 25, 1989 |
| Grant date | Jun 12, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 25, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/3517
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Combinatorial (Boolean) logic functions are provided by ultrafast optical logic devices which utilize soliton trapping between two optical signals propagating in a birefringent fiber. The logic devices are three terminal devices having orthogonally polarized soliton input signals and a single output signal. Optically filtering the output from the fiber permits the desired combinatorial logic operation to be performed on the input optical signals. Logic operations include AND, exclusive-OR, NOT, and NOR functions. In operation, the devices exhibit phase insensitivity, low switching energy, high contrast ratio between output logic levels, and cascadability. In one embodiment of the invention, a first optical signal and a second optical signal are optically coupled into the principal axes of a birefringent fiber. A Fabry Perot etalon centered at the center frequency of both the first and second signals is utilized to realize a exclusive-OR operation whereas centering the etalon on the frequency related to the spectral shift caused by soliton trapping realizes an AND operation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.