Multimode interference devices with input-output ports on the sides

Multimode interference (MMI) devices are useful for power splitting and for the separation or combination of wavelengths or polarizations, usually in integrated optics. Input-output guides connect to the MMI region by ports. In all previously reported MMI devices, the input and output guides connect only to the ends of the MMI region; i.e., they are end ported. What is believed to be a novel arrangement of the input-output ports on MMI devices is described. By placing input-output ports either partially or entirely on the sides of the MMI region (i.e., side porting), a variety of benefits are achieved and a variety of new devices can be made.     

All-optical logic devices with cascaded nonlinear couplers

The switching behaviors of cascaded nonlinear couplers were investigated. They have nearly ideal digital-switching characteristics, and their output power levels can be adjusted by means of varying the nonlinear coupling coefficient of the final coupler. The two-input excitation nonlinear cascaded couplers can perform not only switching operations but also a series of logic operations. The logic operations depend mainly on the coupling length of the two-input coupler and its initial inputs. The power corresponding to the rising and falling ridge of the logic operating waveforms can be shifted effectively by means of varying the switching power of the reshaper. Allowable ranges of three important parameters-coupling length of the two-input coupler L(1), bias optical power P(bia), and phase difference psi between the signal and bias beams for six fundamental logic operations-were calculated. Curves for design considerations and suggestions for the best choice of parameters for stable and reliable logic operations and, or, xor, nand, nor, and nxor are also presented individually.     

Multifunctional devices and logic gates with undoped silicon nanowires

We report on the electronic transport properties of multiple-gate devices fabricated from undoped silicon nanowires. Understanding and control of the relevant transport mechanisms was achieved by means of local electrostatic gating and temperature-dependent measurements. The roles of the source/drain contacts and of the silicon channel could be independently evaluated and tuned. Wrap gates surrounding the silicide-silicon contact interfaces were proved to be effective in inducing a full suppression of the contact Schottky barriers, thereby enabling carrier injection down to liquid helium temperature. By independently tuning the effective Schottky barrier heights, a variety of reconfigurable device functionalities could be obtained. In particular, the same nanowire device could be configured to work as a Schottky barrier transistor, a Schottky diode, or a p-n diode with tunable polarities. This versatility was eventually exploited to realize a NAND logic gate with gain well above one.     

Functional stability conditions for logic devices of K- valued logic

For any input signal of logic elements (LE) which realize logical functions ofK-valued logic to be converted into any output signal, it has been shown to be sufficient that the LE have2(K- 1)different input-output characteristics without equal values of the output signal at neighboring discrete values of input signals. Sufficient conditions for stable operation of both long closed and short logical chains of elements with characteristics under consideration are formulated.     

Programmable optical logic systems using free-space optical interconnections

A free-space optical logic technique is presented that utilizes a two-dimensional array of diffractive optical elements. Each optical element focuses light to multiple, separate positions in the output focal plane. The focal spots from different optical elements are allowed to overlap spatially, resulting in interference. By changing the phase shift between the optical elements, one can create different optical logic operations in the focal plane. The technique is demonstrated by the use of two input beams incident onto a multiplexed optical element written onto a programmable spatial light modulator. The optical element simultaneously creates both AND and XOR logic functions in the output plane.     

Realizing optical logic with a smart-pixel spatial light modulator

A method of implementing optical logic has been realized experimentally with a novel liquid crystal on silicon spatial light modulator with an integrated lens arrays. The device allows for three optical inputs and one optical output per pixel. The different logic functions realized, OR, and, nor, nand, and xor, are discussed.     

Multi-input optical parallel logic processing with the shadow-casting technique

The lensless shadow-casting technique for coded pattern processing usually accommodates two inputs at a time to perform desired logical operations in parallel. A method of binary encoding is proposed that can accommodate multiple input patterns for simultaneous processing. With the proposed multiple-input encoding a carry-look-ahead technique of binary addition is developed that requires fewer processing steps than the conventional ripple-carry method. Experimental results for a few logic-processing operations are included to establish the validity of the proposed technique.     

Reconfigurable optical logic unit with a terahertz optical asymmetric demultiplexer and electro-optic switches

A reconfigurable optical logic unit that can execute any binary logic and arithmetic operation on the same hardware with different configurations is proposed. The design, based on cascaded terahertz optical asymmetric demultiplexer switches, introduces reconfigurability with the help of electro-optic switches. The model is simple and practicable.     

Extended coding for optical array logic

We present extended coding for optical array logic (OAL) to avoid the marginal effect. The marginal effect is defined as an effect caused by the finite size of the image region, and it is a problem in massively parallel processing by OAL. OAL is a paradigm of optical computing suitable for optical implementation utilizing image coding and discrete correlation. To avoid the marginal effect in the context of OAL, we propose a new coding rule and consider possible operations with this coding. With extended coding, binary data can be identified from background with the same number of pixels as that used in the original OAL. Simulation results of the operations verify the correctness of the proposed technique.     

Polynomial-based optical true-time delay devices with microelectromechanical mirror arrays

We previously reported optical true-time delay devices, based on the White cell, to support phased-array radars. In particular, we demonstrated a quadratic device, in which the number of delays obtainable was proportional to the square of the number of times the light beam bounced in the cell. Here we consider the possibilities when a microelectromechanical (MEM) tip/tilt mirror array with multiple stable states is used. We present and compare designs for quadratic, quartic, and octic cells using MEM mirror arrays with two, three, and five micro-mirror tilt angles. An octic cell with a three-state MEM can produce 6,339 different delays in just 17 bounces.     

Dual-fiber collimator with elliptical spot for optical MEMS devices

Fiber collimators are widely used in optical communication components and fiber-optic sensors. Ordinary fiber collimators are made with a circular beam waist radius from 100?μm to 300?μm. The circular beam waist is too large to switch or shut the beam for certain micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) actuators (such as MEMS linear mirrors). In this paper, a dual-fiber collimator with an elliptical spot is proposed to meet the demands of MEMS optical devices. The elliptical spot collimator has been designed and fabricated, the beam waist spot of which is an elliptical spot with a 231.6?μm long-axis radius and a 12.87?μm short-axis radius, and its coupling loss is 0.37?dB.     

Slot optical waveguide usage in forming passive optical devices

We have reviewed the work on SOI slot optical waveguides followed by our work. In a slot waveguide structure, light can be confined in a low index slot guarded by high index slabs. Slot structures are being used in forming complex structures; such as ring resonator circuits. The increased round trip in ring resonator circuits signifies the importance of dispersion calculations. We did analytical and numerical investigations of slot structures' dispersion characteristics. Our dispersion tuned slot structures can help in reducing the dispersion effects on optical signal, which will in turn improve the efficiency of light-on-chip circuits. Since the advent of slot optical waveguides, SOI based slot optical waveguides have been under consideration. It has been found that glass based slot optical waveguide structures with relatively low refractive index contrast ratio can also play an important role in forming complex nano-size optical devices. We made use of power confined inside low index slot regions for a double slot structure. Opto-mechanical sensors have been proposed based upon: (a) variation in power confined inside low index slot region due to the movement of central high index slab under the action of external force (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc). vide Chinese Patent No. ZL 200710176770.1, 2007 (b) variation in power confined inside low refractive index slot regions due to movement of both slots under the action of external force (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc).     

Approaches to achieve broadband optical transformation devices with transmuted singularity

Many optical instruments with dielectric singularities cannot be manufactured directly. Their singularities can be transmuted through optical transformation, and equivalent physical media can be built to perform the same optical behaviors. The transformed physical media are usually anisotropic and inhomogeneous and, therefore, difficult to fabricate. In this work, several mathematical approaches are proposed to produce a transformed lens with all the elements of the material tensors to be no less than unity. This increases the ease of implementation, as natural materials may be used, which substantially widens the bandwidth of the transformed devices. Although we focus on an omnidirectional retroreflection lens as an example, the approaches developed here are universal and applicable to a wide class of devices with dielectric singularities.     

Electrochromic Materials for optical switching devices

The basic principles of electrochromism have been reported and discussed using the example of WO₃, and some other important electrochromic materials have been described which have a number of interesting technical applications. Both compounds and materials used in ECDs were discussed and the principles of device design were portrayed, using as an example a reflective ASSD. By continuing the search for new electrochromic compounds and by further improving device design and cost optimization the applications of these materials are bound to increase.