三值光学计算机解码器的理论、技术和实现

Abstract

In a ternary optical computer (TOC), the function of the decoder is to transform three-state optical signal output by the ternary optical processor into two-state electoral signals that can be used in an electronic computer. The coder has the inverse function. Together, the coder and decoder form a bridge for exchanging data between the TOC and an electronic computer. In the past decade, much research has focused on these two components in a TOC. As it has a simple structure, a favorable coder was manufactured in 2007. However, the complex mechanism of the decoder has improved more slowly. With the invention of the SD11, the third experimental TOC system for application research, most problems in the decoder were solved, new technologies were realized, and a theoretically better framework was introduced. In this paper we discuss these advancements in the TOC decoder. First, an ideal decoder structure abstracted from practice is shown in Figure 1. Next a suitable actual decoder comprising two camera modules and an embedded computer is illustrated in Figure 2. This is a simplification of the ideal structure and is used in the SD11. Thereafter, we describe the actual decoder's workflow, as depicted in Figure 3. Finally the use of and experiments with five key decoder techniques are discussed. The five techniques are address calibration, threshold setting, color correction, bad-pixels-out, and target picture judgment. Address calibration ascertains the memory address in the decode buffer for the data of every pixel in the target picture. The threshold setting ensures that each pixel's value is 1 when the pixel is brighter than the upper threshold and 0 when the pixel is darker than the lower threshold. Color correction removes the harmful effect from ambient light and the color cast of liquid crystal and Polaroid. Bad-pixels-out enforces substitutes for no-work pixels with spare work pixels, while target picture judgment accomplishes synchronization between the optical processor and decoder.