MICROLASER OPTICAL LOGIC GATES

OPTICAL LOGIC DEVICES ARE SOUGHT BY MANY INSTITUTIONS TO BE USED IN DIGITAL OPTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS. THE DEVICES PROPOSED HERE ARE PARTLY A CONTINUATION IN THE EVOLUTION OF GAAS-BASED GATES, BUT THEIR INCORPORATION OF LASING CHARACTERISTICS PRODUCES REVOLUTIONARY ADVANTAGES IN SYSTEM RELIABILITY AND SIMPLICITY. THEY ARE BASED ON THE VERTICAL CAVITY SURFACE-EMITTING MICROLASERS WHICH THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR HAS RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED. THESE MICROLASERS ALREADY HAVE ACTIVATION ENERGY COMPARABLE TO THAT OF THE LOWEST ENERGY OPTICAL GATES SO FAR, AND CAN BE SCALED DOWN TO THE MUCH LOWER ENERGIES NECESSARY FOR A PRACTICAL DIGITAL OPTICAL SYSTEM. SPEEDS, CURRENTLY UP TO ABOUT 8 GHZ, CAN ALSO BE SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED. THE PHASE I PROJECT SHALL INTEGRATE A DETECTOR AND CONTROLLING DEVICE WITH THE MICROLASER FOR A SIMPLE TEST. THE RESULTS OF THIS TEST WILL SET THE STAGE FOR MORE AMBITIOUS DEVICES WHICH SHOULD SUPPLY THE RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES WITH ARRAYS OF DIGITAL OPTICAL DEVICES WHICH ARE RELIABLE AND EASY TO IMPLEMENT WITH A MINIMUM OF OPTICAL HARDWARE.