MULTI-STABLE PROCESSOR AND ACTIVE MULTI-STABLE CAVITY SENSOR

摘要

An optical processing device (10) and method for processing with extremely low energy requirements. Spontaneous emission from an excited optical gain medium (18) generate a waveform that propagates within a cavity (14, 16) defined by the gain medium (18) and a reflective device (17). A first spatial modulating element (29) in the path of the generated wavefront imposes a first spatial pattern thereon, while a second spatial modulating element (36) imposes a second spatial pattern on the perturbed wavefront carrying the first pattern. When the first and second imposed spatial patterns have dual spatial patterns, light is directed back along pathways through the cavity to induce stimulated emission and resonance in the cavity. Also, in an optical sensing device and method, spontaneous emissions from an excited optical gain medium (18) generate a propagating waveform which is modulated by either a spatial modulator (29) or a pattern under investigation.