METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING OPTICAL NETWORK INTERFACE USING OPTICAL MEMORY STORAGE

摘要

Data is received as a serial optical stream which is applied to an optical storage medium (34) such as doped lithium niobate. As each data bit of the optical stream is applied to the optical storage medium (34) as an object beam (24), a reference beam (26) is also applied to create interference patterns or gratings in the storage medium (34). As subsequent data digits are applied, the angles at which the object beam (24) and reference beam (26) are applied are changed by rotating mirrors (28, 36) to create identifiable interference patterns in the optical storage medium (34) for each bit. The incoming optical data is optically recorded without a conversion between optical and electrical domains. The method and apparatus presented here provide continuous real-time storage of optical information in an optical form.