Optical computers

Abstract

Optical switching systems need not be thought of merely as rapid substitutions for electronic devices. On the contrary, the greatest benefit of optical switches could come from applications that cannot be duplicated by other means. Optical fibers, which can carry prodigious amounts of information, are being used increasingly for communications among computers. Optical switching is a natural candidate to mediate between electronic systems and optical ones. On the other hand, if the computation is done optically to begin with, optical fibers could be employed as direct links between computing systems. There is no doubt that the optical computer is a realistic and exciting prospect. The author discusses the function of a switch, interferometer use, nonlinear refraction, bistable optical devices, optical transistors and optical logic gates.