Abstract

When designing a digital optical parallel processor one faces the question of whether to use one big lens system or many small lenses side by side. Hybrid setups, consisting of macro-lenses and lens-let arrays, are also conceivable. This raises the question of how the features of a lens system change if the geometric parameters of the lens are scaled up or down. The wavelength remains unchanged, of course. Hence wave aberrations measured in wavelengths scale linearly. We review the scaling laws and the impact on parameters such as resolution, depth of focus, space-bandwidth product, time delay (latency), weight, and price on the architecture of an optical computer.

© 1988 Optical Society of America