DIGITAL / OPTICAL HYBRID SYSTEM (DOHS) FOR TWO-DIMENSIONAL SIGNAL PROCESSING.

Abstract

A hybrid system consisting of a coherent optical computer and a general purpose digitel computer is proposed for processing a two-dimensional signal. Such a system will have the speed and high information density of an optical computer and the decision-logic capability, flexibility and high accuracy of a digital computer.

The general plan of hybrid computation is that a given signal is first processed on the optical computer, which can perform oil linear operations. A selected portionof the optically processed signal is further processed on a digital computer. The digital computer, in addition, controls the optical computer, makes decisions on the basis of processed signal and issues commands to the external devices for further action. It is shown that for successful implementation of the proposed hybrid system,we must have devices capable of real time input to the optical computer and devices capable of transmitting data from the digital to the optical computer and vice versa.Further more, the optical system has to be further improved in order that the accuracy of computation improves by at least one order of magnitude.