Optical Processing

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Optical Processing Optical Communications
Symbiosis or Convergence

• Essex Corporation
• Terry Turpin
• Chief Scientist

2
Optical Processor/Computer?
a machine that performs mathematical functions
with light rather than electrons

• Functions most frequently used
• Fourier Transform
• (demultiplexing/multiplexing)
• Correlation (pattern detection)
• Data distribution and replication

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Optical Computing History Tidbits
.parallellism speed and parallelism
Optical processors were used to break the enigma
code during World War II
Early Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) (Leigh,
Cutrona)

• Search Receivers
• Triple Product Processors
• Tempest Optical Correlators (NSA)

Optical Spectrum Analyzers -Itek ATD
1975-1983
1968-1978
1940s
1970s
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Specific Optical Processors
Name Date of Application Units in Use
IFT 1975-1980 Signal Search 50
TOC 1985 50
Netzer 1980 Spread spectrum 4
Wanzer 1985 Cryptanalytic 2
Opaline 1981 Cryptanalytic 1
Washland 1984 Spread spectrum 2
Flemming 1966 Cryptanalytic 1
EW channelizer 1980 on ?
Gingerbread 1981 Signal Search 4 roofman
ImSyn 1990 Image Synthesis 6
Labyrinth 1988 Spread Spectrum 2
SWAS 1998 Astronomy 1/4
DOC 1985-1995 3
AOS 1990-today ?
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History vs. Mythology
History
Optical Computers

• Optical Computing is 50 years old
• Mostly US Government Projects
• Very Expensive
• Component Technology CLASSSIFIED
• Niche Technology
• Wideband signal analysis
• cryptography

Mythology

• Too expensive for the Real World
• Still CLASSIFIED
• Built only by PhDs
• Rarity in the Real World

REALITY TODAY Optical Processors are
successful gaining widespread use
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Evolution of Communications and Processing

• Starting with simple carrier Tx-Rx function
• Carriers Groomed for greater capacity
• Grooming becomes Processing as complexity
  grows

Bandwidth
1 Tbps
1 Gbps
optical carriers
1Mbps
electronic carriers
Optical Carrier Processing
Digital Carrier Processing
1 bps
1840
1970
2000
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Why go to Optical Processors?
Advantages

• Speed
• Reduced size and power consumption
• OEO Overhead Cost are Excessive
• (optical - electrical - optical)
• Natural Fit
• Optical Processing for Optical Communications
• Typical improvement is a factor of 50000

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Cutting Edge Elements

• Materials
• Photonic Crystals
• Non-Linear Materials
• Silicon Germanium
• III-V II-VI Materials Systems

New Components

• VCELS
• Optical Fiber
• Optical Amplifiers
• SOA
• EDFA
• Optical Correlators
• Optical Signal Processors

• Technology
• Photon Echo
• Optical Tap Delay
• Solotons

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Next Generation Tools
Commercial Applications

• Optical Switching
• Optical Routing
• Optical Packet Switching
• Lambda Switching
• Optical Spread Spectrum
• Free Space Beam Tracking

• More Bandwidth Capacity
• Faster
• Simpler
• Cheaper
• Lower Power Consumption

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Future Optical Communications

• Integrated optical processing will
• Improve Performance
• Provide security
• Provide switching and routing functions
• Networks will tend to be more transparent
• Networks will operate at lower power levels
  approaching the quantum limit

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Ready for Prime Time?

• Government continues to invest in compact
  supercomputing capability
• Many commercial applications using supercomputing
  power at commercial prices
• Telecom revolution has lowered the cost and
  improved the availability of optical components
• Telecom and computing industries are confronting
  wideband signal processing requirements
• Encryption
• Channelization
• Correlation

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Wheres the Market?

• Bandwidth demand continues to at least double
  each year
• Vendor inventories from the overbuild are gone
• Network is at capacity at many exchange points
• Sales are happening
• Metro and Access are building to increase sales
  and meet demand

Source IDC
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Commercial Break..
Communications Networks

• Hyperfine WDM product family
• Reconfigurable ADM
• All optical equalizer
• All optical privacy system
• All optical CDMA
• Wavelength router

Multi-user detection for spread spectrum comms
Extreme Processing Solutions
3D Images
Radar Analysis
Holographic 3-D Synthetic Aperture Radar
Hypothesis tester for tracking targets
IT Infrastructure
1 GHz bandwidth range Doppler radar processor
Transformational Architectures and Build-Out
Through Light and Innovation
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EYW
turpin_at_essexcorp.com