Abstract

VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL) is a standard language for modelling electronic hardware. To evaluate the application of VHDL to optoelectronic computers, we simulate the programmable optoelectronic multiprocessor (POEM) architecture in VHDL. POEM is an architecture in which processing elements are interconnected with reconfigurable free-space optical interconnections. We use VHDL to simulate the POEM prototype, develop the next-generation POEM system, and design and test new parallel algorithms that exploit unique features of optoelectronic technology. We discuss our experience in the application of VHDL to the modeling of optoelectronic systems.

© 1990 Optical Society of America