Abstract

Optical correlators have, for over three decades, been considered as attractive alternatives to digital image processing for a variety of pattern recognition tasks¹. Until recently however, there has been a lack of appropriate materials with which to implement these devices. A practical correlator requires an efficient, compact source of coherent light, a fast “optical memory” for displaying templates and, for joint-transform correlators, a sensitive, high resolution optically addressed spatial light modulator (OASLM). In this paper we discuss an optical correlator that uses a laser diode as the light source along with a GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well optically addressed spatial light modulator (MQW-OASLM)². The template images are supplied either by fixed images on film or by a ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulator (FLC-SLM).

© 1997 Optical Society of America