Multichannel optical correlator based on a mutually incoherent microlaser array

Abstract

A robust and high-light-efficiency optical correlator is presented that utilizes a spatially incoherent light source array as the illuminator and a pixelated electrically addressed spatial light modulator (SLM) as the input device. Multiple spectra created by all light sources overlap one another in the spectrum plane and are filtered by a spatially multiplexed matched filter. The output is the superposition of correlations from all light source channels. In comparison with the classical optical correlator the robust correlator has advantages with respect to immunity to coherent noise and compatibility with pixelated SLM’s and has high energy efficiency, high output intensity, and a high signal-to-noise ratio.