Abstract

The lensless optical shadow-casting scheme¹ has been shown to perform combinatorial logic operations. To make a more powerful system, the realization of sequential logic operations is necessary. With a powerful design algorithm,² we have demonstrated the design of various combinational logic units like that of a full adder/subtracter, multiplication units, trinary adders, and programmable logic arrays using a polarization-encoded optical shadow-casting system. We present the design of a basic memory unit, a J-K flip-flop, as an example; we believe this is the first of its kind reported in the literature. Three approaches have been considered in designing the J-K flip-flop that result in three different system configurations. The performance of these modules is compared in terms of size of the input pixels and architectural constraints.

© 1988 Optical Society of America