Objective
The aim is realisation of an optical parallel processor based on the use of bistabile transverse optical solitons in conjunction with optical field phase gradients to steer the solitons. The processor will be a two dimensional matrix of bistable pixels. It has the capability of direct optical recognition of patterns and associative memory.
The result will be a device allowing to realise a large number of coexisting steady spatial states (2ExpN states for a matrix of N solitons). This device should have a high information density because the limits for pixel pitch is of the order of the optical wavelength. this kind of device is the (long sought for) central element of the "synergetic computer"; a parallel information processing scheme particularly suited for pattern recognition and associative parallel memory functions. (Which has proven its usefulness already in industrial processing even though at present only very slow software emulations exist, on traditional electronic computers.) The speed of such a device is limited only by the material and field relaxation times (nanoseconds or below dependent on which nonlinerity is used).
The work in the preceding project TONICS showed (theoretically) the existence of the desired bistable solitons as well as the possibility to manipulate and localise these by extrinsic forces such as field gradients in the driving light.
We intend to investigate as the system which permits to realise such a bistable pixel matrix a resonator with plane mirrors filled by a non linear optical material.
In order to miniaturise, the structure aimed at will be basically that of a VCSEL i.e. a large area vertical cavity semiconductor laser.
Such a structure can be used (i) as a passive structure (as a non linear resonator) and (ii) with inverted non-linearity (by pumping so as to create population inversion but below laser threshold), (iii) "cascading" the second order optical non linearity of the semiconductor which would allow extremely high data rates at the expense of largher pump field.
The difference between (i) and (ii) is that the sign of the non-linearity, which is defocusing in the usual semiconductors, can be changed so as to create focusing, which at present appears a requirement for the existence of the spatial solitons.
The theoretical work will identify the operational parameter ranges, the mutual interactions of the solitons (limits of miniaturisation) and interaction of the solitons with extrinsic gradients or material structurisation (localisation of the solitons). The dynamics of writing and erasing will also be examined to assess the through-put possible with candidate structures.
The experimental work will (a) characterise the relevant semiconductor materials based on which (b) the required structures will be chosen. In parallel (c) systems studies will be done on photo refractive resonators which will allow investigations of e.g. pattern recognition based on the spatial solitons, but with convenient, controllable time and space scales.
Finally the predicted results verified by the experiments will be used to design the non linear semiconductor resonators, and the predictions will be verified by experiments - now with the guidance of the results of the theoretical work and its scale model implementation.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences software
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence pattern recognition
- natural sciences computer and information sciences data science data processing
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
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Coordinator
BRAUNSCHWEIG
Germany
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