Toward a free-space parallel optoelectronic computer: a 300-MHz optoelectronic counter using holographic...

We built and tested one of the key components of a free-space holographically interconnected stored-program optoelectronic computer: a counter. The counter is constructed with 1-ns-latency optoelectronic NOR gates and is interconnected with holographic optical elements. Two synchronization methods were also demonstrated: the gate-and-strobe method and the time-of-flight method. These counters represent prototypical optoelectronic finite-state controllers. They were developed to demonstrate the feasibility of providing optoelectronic controllers for optoelectronic processors.