Abstract

An analog optical processor for evaluating weighted sums of outer products in parallel is described. It uses a linear array of light sources oriented along the diagonal, 2-D spatial light modulators to encode input vectors, a 2-D detector array to generate the output and conventional spherical and cylindrical lenses. This system can be used to multiply two matrices as well as to evaluate a weighted rank-1 synthesis of images in a single clock cycle of the processor. Factors limiting the performance are described. These can be overcome using a linear array of sources and grating array deflectors. Experimental results using eight outer product terms are presented and the implication of this architecture to optical signal and image processing systems are discussed.

© 1993 Optical Society of America