Abstract

Ordinarily the logic states YES and NO are indicated in optical logic as BRIGHT or DARK. The disadvantage of that implementation is that light has to be abolished if the logic state changes from YES to NO. Light is expensive, and absorbed light generates heat, which may slow down the operation of the logic processor. These disadvantages are avoided if the two logic states are indicated by two orthogonal polarization states. Now, the change of a logic state is a reversible physical process. We describe some optical logic devices that are based on polarization.

© 1985 Optical Society of America