FLC-VLSI OASLMs for discrimination of Temporally Modulated Cross-Correlations in JTCs

The push for faster image processing and high speed, higher density memory is driving the search for technologies which can enhance or replace conventional electronics. It has been known for decades that optics has the potential to surpass electronics in certain areas but its use has been limited due to inadequate electro-optic technologies. The optical joint transform correlator (JTC) is among the important architectures being investigated for use in high speed image processing. A problem with the JTC is the fact that its output is frequently dominated by the unwanted presence of strong autocorrelation signals which can mask the desired cross-correlation. Recently a modification of the JTC architecture has been developed which supresses the unwantged autocorrelation terms. A novel optically addressed spatial light modulator is needed to take advantage of this new approach. Displaytech has been developing ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC)-VLSI spatial light modulators (SLMS) similar to the one required for the JTC. We propose to develop and compare candidate FLC-VLSI designs which perform the required JTC function, and then to fabricate a small scale prototype. In Phase II we aim to scale up the SLM to 256x256 pixels.