Ebook: Nonlinear Optics and Optical Computing

The conference "Nonlinear Optics and Optical Computing" was held May 11-19, 1988 in Erice, Sicily. This was the 13th conference organized by the International School of Quantum Electronics, under the auspices of the "Ettore Majorana" Center for Scientific Culture. This volume contains both the invited and contributed papers presented at the conference, providing tutorial background, the latest research results, and future directions for the devices, structures and architectures of optical computing. The invention of the transistor and the integrated circuit were followed by an explosion of application as ever faster and more complex microelectronics chips became available. The information revolution occa­ sioned by digital computers and optical communications is now reaching the limits of silicon semiconductor technology, but the demand for faster com­ putation is still accelerating. The fundamental limitations of information processing today derive from the performance and cost of three technical factors: speed, density, and software. Optical computation offers the potential for improvements in all three of these critical areas: Speed is provided by the transmission of impulses at optical veloc­ ities, without the delays caused by parasitic capacitance in the case of conventional electrical interconnects. Speed can also be achieved through the massive parallelism characteristic of many optical computing architec­ tures; Density can be provided in optical computers in two ways: by high spatial resolution, on the order of wavelengths of light, and by computa­ tion or interconnection in three dimensions.

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Theory of Optical Bistability and Optical Memory....Pages 3-20
Dynamic Operation of Nonlinear Waveguide Devices for Fast Optical Switching....Pages 21-35
Optical Bistability in Coupled-Cavity Semiconductor Lasers....Pages 37-50
Semiconductor Bistable Etalons for Digital Optical Computing....Pages 51-61
Three Photon Ionization of Na Atoms and Related Plasma Phenomena....Pages 63-79
Front Matter....Pages 81-81
Ultrafast Dynamical Nonlinearities in III–V Semiconductors....Pages 83-98
Nonlinear Optical Materials and Devices....Pages 99-118
Excitonic Optical Nonlinearities, Four Wave Mixing and Optical Bistability in Multiple Quantum Well Structures....Pages 119-130
Nonlinear Optics of a Single Slightly-Relativistic Cyclotron Electron....Pages 131-147
Front Matter....Pages 149-149
Principles of Optical Computing....Pages 151-157
Optical Associative Memory....Pages 159-171
Optical Computing Using Phase Conjugation....Pages 173-195
Nonlinear Photorefractive Effects and Their Application in Dynamic Optical Interconnects and Image Processing....Pages 197-213
Front Matter....Pages 215-215
Ultrafast All-Optical Switching in Optical Fibers....Pages 217-227
Nonlinear Coupling to ZnS, ZnO and SDG Planar Waveguides: Theory and Experimental Study....Pages 229-245
Nonlinearity at an Interface....Pages 247-249
Front Matter....Pages 251-251
Polarization Instability in Crystals with Nonlinear Anisotropy and Nonlinear Gyrotropy....Pages 253-264
Selected References on Optical Computing Using Phase Conjugation....Pages 265-268
Back Matter....Pages 269-285

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Theory of Optical Bistability and Optical Memory....Pages 3-20
Dynamic Operation of Nonlinear Waveguide Devices for Fast Optical Switching....Pages 21-35
Optical Bistability in Coupled-Cavity Semiconductor Lasers....Pages 37-50
Semiconductor Bistable Etalons for Digital Optical Computing....Pages 51-61
Three Photon Ionization of Na Atoms and Related Plasma Phenomena....Pages 63-79
Front Matter....Pages 81-81
Ultrafast Dynamical Nonlinearities in III–V Semiconductors....Pages 83-98
Nonlinear Optical Materials and Devices....Pages 99-118
Excitonic Optical Nonlinearities, Four Wave Mixing and Optical Bistability in Multiple Quantum Well Structures....Pages 119-130
Nonlinear Optics of a Single Slightly-Relativistic Cyclotron Electron....Pages 131-147
Front Matter....Pages 149-149
Principles of Optical Computing....Pages 151-157
Optical Associative Memory....Pages 159-171
Optical Computing Using Phase Conjugation....Pages 173-195
Nonlinear Photorefractive Effects and Their Application in Dynamic Optical Interconnects and Image Processing....Pages 197-213
Front Matter....Pages 215-215
Ultrafast All-Optical Switching in Optical Fibers....Pages 217-227
Nonlinear Coupling to ZnS, ZnO and SDG Planar Waveguides: Theory and Experimental Study....Pages 229-245
Nonlinearity at an Interface....Pages 247-249
Front Matter....Pages 251-251
Polarization Instability in Crystals with Nonlinear Anisotropy and Nonlinear Gyrotropy....Pages 253-264
Selected References on Optical Computing Using Phase Conjugation....Pages 265-268
Back Matter....Pages 269-285
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