Uniformity and noise limitations of free-space optical computing and switching systems based on arrays of optical bistable devices

Abstract

A tolerance study of optical bistable device based parallel systems is presented. The role of spatial and temporal fluctuations is emphasized, since these parameters are found to be the main limitation of the achievable parallelism and the bit error rate. A worst-case estimate of the required system parameters is given for three different operation modes. The obtained tolerances are quite demanding compared to the performances of devices used in many experiments, but they can be met by the highest standard devices presently available.