Abstract

A major source of noise in optical matrix-vector multipliers is the fluctuation of the emitted light.¹ For LED and laser diode light sources, the counting distributions are Poisson. With the introduction of a spatial light modulator (SLM), however, the distribution changes. To determine the role of the SLM on the overall system noise, we measure the effect of the SLM on the noise distribution of the light, first using film (passive) and then using a magnetooptic SLM (active). We then compare the results with other noise sources in an optical matrix–vector multiplier. This comparison can be used to establish the accuracy limits of the processor.

© 1988 Optical Society of America