Memory, processing, and routing applications of spatial-spectral holography in ultra-high-speed computing systems

Real-time, wide band information storage and signal processing devices are critical to many computing and communication systems. Optical spatial-spectral holography has the potential to perform real-time storage and continuous signal processing at data rates up to a terahertz, with storage/pattern densities on the order of a terabit per centimeter squared, and with data block sizes/time-bandwidth products well over 10000. These attributes, coupled with spatial selectivity and the ability to process amplitude, phase, and frequency modulated signals makes spatial-spectral holography an extremely versatile technology. Applications include time, frequency-, or code-division multiplexed routing, pattern recognition; multi-dimensional cache memory; high density, high bandwidth database memory, associative memory, and look-up tables; temporal encryption and decryption for secure communications; interior memory for optical networks; realtime address decoder; all optical passive routing of data; header and data stripper and isolator for network packets; true time delays for phase arrays with simultaneous tracking of multiple targets; and dynamic pulse shaping and distortion compensation.