Experimental study is performed of optical diffractions by two-dimensional, self-similar mass and surface fractal apertures as well as mass fractal apertures bounded by surface fractals. Self-similar intensity distributions are observed in the Fraunhofer diffraction fields from surface and mass fractal apertures. Power law decays in average intensities of the diffraction patterns are also investigated for the mass, surface and combined fractal apertures in connection with the fractal dimensions of the objects.

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We have proposed an optical information processing system adopting synthesis of the optical coherence function by using direct frequency-modulation of a laser diode.¹⁾ Optical coherence function having notch shape is discussed theoretically and experimentally. Applying the notch shaped coherence function to this system, to mask selectively a two-dimensional (2-D) information from a three-dimensional (3-D) object can be carried out. After showing the experimental results on selective masking, the performance deterioration factors are discussed in detail.

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Fractional Fourier transforms, which are related to chirp and wavelet transforms, lead to the notion of fractional Fourier domains. The concept of filtering of signals in fractional domains is developed, revealing that under certain conditions one can improve upon the special cases of these operations in the conventional space and frequency domains. Because of the ease of performing the fractional Fourier transform optically, these operations are relevant for optical information processing.

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A real-time detection of a moving object was demonstrated by taking the subtraction between cross-polarized phase conjugate waves with fast and slow response times with two kinds of dye-doped phase conjugators. One consists of superposed films of an erythrosin-B-doped film and a methyl-orange-doped film, and the other is a film dispersed with both dyes. The relative phase between cross-polarized phase conjugate waves by the both dye-dispersed films was stable.

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We propose a novel parallel algorithm of modified signed-digit (MSD) computing, in which MSD digits are encoded to three bit plane (BP) patterns. The addition of two MSD data arrays is performed with two steps: calculating nine intermediate patterns from encoded BP patterns and calculating three BP patterns with the nine intermediate patterns. A system module constucted with nine beam splitter cubes is developed for optical demonstration. Preliminary experimental results are given.

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A readout function of a reading light supplier (RLS) is demonstrated by reading out images from an optical addressable spatial light modulator (SLM). The RLS supplies reading light to the reading side of the SLM and transmits readout images from the SLM. The RLS consists of a fiber plate and a redirector which has micro conical-hollows. The RLS contrast, which is the intensity ratio of the reading light to the stray light, is 9.2 and the power efficiency of the reading light supply is about 5%. A writing pattern on the SLM is a checkered pattern of 5 mm mm cells, and it is read out successfully using the RLS. The maximum contrast of the readout image is 1.9.

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We propose a dual focus optical head with a holographic optical element (HOE) which corrects spherical aberrations in order to read both 0.6 mm disks and 1.2 mm disks. The thin disks are read using transmitted light and the thick disks are read using +1st order diffracted light of the blazed HOE. The good quality of the focused spots and the focusing error signals was experimentally confirmed. No influence of unnecessary diffracted light was observed.

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Long-term, high resolution holographic storage has been achieved in side-chain liquid crystalline polyesters with high diffraction efficiency. The information can be completely erased by heating the film to about 80°C. The modular architecture of the polyesters permits a varition in the length of the main- and side-chains and the substituents of the azo chromophore. Each of these has a profound influence on the storage properties of the polyesters. In this article, we examine the influence of the length of the side-chains, the probe-beam-polarization dependence of the observed signal on the interface and the crystalline vs. amorphous nature of the films for optical storage.

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An astigmatic method for focus error detection has been integrated into a singlet. The first convex and the second concave surfaces compose a telephoto system with a telephoto ratio of about 0.4. The first surface of the lens is rotationally symmetrical asphere and the second surface is a toric shape whose aspherical profiles correct spherical aberration. We implemented our optical design using a molded glass process. Its performance was confirmed using the optical head of a magneto-optical disk system.

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Amorphous As₂S₃ films are real-time photographic materials for phase holograms. This work focuses on the phase shift in As₂S₃ films as a function of the exposure. A method for measuring the phase shift response and the exposure simultaneously is presented. A relative displacement determination of interferometric patterns allows precise measurements insensitive to changes of experimental conditions. The phase shift dependence on the intensity of the writing beam is evaluated for two different films. As a result, a linear phase shift response is obtained with a dynamic range of nearly It is independent of the intensity over four orders of magnitude. The results are proofed by diffraction efficiency measurements.

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The application of a joint transform correlator to supervised neural networks is discussed. In addition, the application to unsupervised neural networks following Kohonen's self organizing algorithm is also described.

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A new artificial neural network that can reject strange patterns is presented. The new network is an improved version of the RCE network. Each cell in the last layer of the present network has two thresholds. The new threshold produces the smallest boundary that encloses all examples associated with the cell in the pattern vector space. The present network can reject strange patterns by using this boundary. The rejection of strange patterns in the present and RCE networks was investigated by practical experiments using digits sampled from X-ray films of the human chest.

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An optical system for learning neural networks with a 2-D architecture was constructed using a Selfoc microlens array. Using this system, we achieved pattern recognition of typed alphabet characters detected directly with a CCD camera. The system learned 4 characters according to a random search algorithm in order to avoid the difficulties and the costs of calculations of learning signals, optical alignments and addressing to the device which display the weight tensors.

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Using the beam fanning effect in a BaTiO₃ crystal, we propose two simple set-ups to perform the function of an optical image combiner and an optical AND gate respectively. The optical image combiner combines two mutually coherent as well as mutually incoherent patterns transmitted to it separately into a single coherent pattern. This set-up can also be used as an optical OR gate. For the AND gate, the two input signals may also be mutually coherent or incoherent. Experimental results showed the response time of these two devices to range from 0.01 second to 2.5 seconds.

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The bispectrum of the Cantor set that is a typical regular fractal is calculated and its fractalities are shown. A relation between the bispectrum and the fractal dimension of the object is elucidated. Effects of additive random noise on the scaling property of the bispectrum are compared with those of the corresponding power spectrum.

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In this paper, twelve linear primitive reference patterns are proposed for synthesizing a matched spatial filter, known as a shape invariant filter, which can recognize all patterns with various shapes. Furthermore, reprocessed data, given by correlation between the input object of the system and the reference patterns “ correlation diagrams” are introduced for processing peak signals in a digital system. By correlating the diagram from the input object with the standard diagrams, the 26 of the alphabet letters were recognized in the experiment. Moreover, feasibility of the rotational invariance of the filter was suggested by the computer simulation.

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An ultrafast photonic asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch is proposed that incorporates a holographic buffer memory and an optical parallel routing controller. Ultrafast serial-to-parallel conversion of the temporal profiles of optical cells into spatial patterns is used to process optical cells in space in a parallel manner. The spatial pattern of the data payload is holographically recorded as a page in the optical buffer memory. The routing control to establish the switching state consists of header recognition performed by optical matched filtering, followed by control signal generation via reference to a lookup table. The ultimate throughput of the switch is expected to be 10³ Tb/s with line bit-rates of 17 Tb/s.

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In this paper, we describe a novel optical heterodyne interferometer for characterizing phase modulation systems including a lithium tantalate phase modulator. A wideband random signal is imposed on the modulator so that the resultant beat photocurrent is modulated in phase at random. The cross-power spectrum of the fluctuating phase with the wideband random signal driving the modulator is computed to give the transfer function and the impulse response of the phase modulation system. The frequency and time response of the phase modulation are measured up to 15 MHz in a practical experiment.

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A novel non-contact fiber optic accelerometer is presented. Two laser beams that have passed through two different lengths of feed fibers are launched to the same moving target. The frequency of each beam is Doppler shifted by movement of the target. The frequency shift of the laser beam corresponds to the velocity of the target at the time of launch. The difference in launching time due to the difference in feed fiber lengths samples the velocities of the target at times spaced by the differential arrival times of the laser beams. Two return passes of the reflected light are also made different so that the light passed through the shorter feed fiber is steered to the longer return fiber by means of a combination of λ/4 plate and polarization beam splitter (PBS). This arrangement of equalizing the total paths relieved a stringent requirement of the coherency of the laser. Two reflected light beams are mixed and the beat frequency corresponds to the difference in the Doppler shift frequency at two different times of arrival of the launcher. An accelerometer based upon this principle was constructed and its performance was examined using a sinusoidally vibrating hydrophone as a target. Features of such an accelerometer are reduction in the coherency requirements of the light source and simpler amplification of the signal using heterodyne detection.

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In this letter, we estimate the refractive index distribution in a photo-induced waveguide. The photo-induced waveguide was fabricated by scanning a focused laser beam through a lithium niobate crystal. We made use of a parametric model of refractive index distribution of the photo-induced waveguide. The results of numerical simulation on the near-field patterns of curved waveguides are compared with experimental results.

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A bistable optical device was demonstrated by using the longitudinal mode hopping of the laser diode and the narrow transmission spectrum of an interference filter. The device is capable of converting changes in the wavelength of the laser diode into changes in intensity by transmitting it through the filter. Exclusive OR operation was observed with the use of triple signal outputs. In addition, an optical switch-off phenomenon was confirmed by directly injecting a pulse 500 ps wide into an external dye laser.

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A composite cavity laser diode was used to monitor the displacement of the external cavity microresonator from the phase difference in the near field. The carrier-to-noise ratio was very high (more than 45 dB) because of the lack of mode hopping noise due to the extremely short (less than 3 μm) external cavity length and strong optical feedback. The small distance (near field) allows a lensless system, making it easier to integrate on a gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate.

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Light amplification was successfully demonstrated in an all-organic light transducer based on hybridization of an organic electroluminescent diode and a perylene pigment film as an electron photoinjecting electrode. Amplification gain of photon conversion from red to red light reached 25 with the assistance of effective electron photoinjection due to large photocurrent multiplication in a perylene film. Optical switching behavior caused by feedback of output-light to the photoconductive layer was observed.

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A Brillouin fiber laser (BFL) consisting of a fiber ring resonator with different fiber temperatures emits two-frequency light output. The two-frequency BFL yields an optical beat output which can be utilized as an optical frequency shifter. The output beat frequency is controllable by the temperature difference in the fiber ring resonator and changes with a step of a resonant frequency interval of BFL. The temperature dependence of the BFL output frequency was 2.4 MHz/°C. The stability of the output beat frequency to the temperature fluctuation was estimated as 1.04°C/2.5 MHz.

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We report wavelength stabilization of a laser diode using a highly efficient distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) grating formed on a LiTaO₃ quasi-phase-matched second harmonic generation (QPM-SHG) device. Fabricating the second-order DBR on the LiTaO₃ waveguide, the reflectivity of 90% and FWHM wavelength bandwidth of 0.2 nm were obtained. By stabilizing the oscillation wavelength of the laser diode, 3.1 mW of blue light was generated in the QPM-SHG device with the monolithic grating.

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High-dimensional chaos was controlled with the occasional proportional feedback technique in a delayed optical bistable system which consists of a laser diode interferometer with a delayed opto-electronic feedback loop. Both the experiment and the numerical simulation showed that a large number of periodic orbits can be stabilized by controlling the chaotic attractor. The transient state of the trajectory under control was demonstrated.

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The surface quality of alkali halide crystals to be used in spectroscopy and as laser components has been sensed using a computer-generated hologram together with digital image processing. FFT and two-dimensional cross-correlation analyses. Surfaces cleaved only or finished to various extents are considered as examples.

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A large change in the refractive index originating in the transition absorption of erbium ions is induced in an Er³⁺-doped fiber. It is shown that the Er³⁺-doped fiber exhibits the nonlinear refractive index of n₂=7.4 10^-15 m²/W, which is 10⁵-10⁶ times larger than that caused by the optical Kerr effect in a usual silica fiber at the pumping wavelength of 514.5 nm. The large nonlinear refractive index occurred in a fiber directional coupler fabricated with the Er³⁺-doped fiber optically changes the coupling condition. The coupling ratio changes up to 0.16 by increasing the pumping power up to 0.7 mW.

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The fabrication of a periodic domain inversion in LiTaO₃ and LiNbO₃ using direct ion-beam writing is presented. The polarization of these materials can be reversed at room temperature by irradiating Si²⁺ ions into +c faces. A first-order periodic domain inversion with a 50% duty cycle, a depth of 300μm, and an interaction length of 1 mm was realized in LiTaO₃. Using this structure, 30μW of blue light was generated for a conversion efficiency of 0.25%/W.

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A precise method for measurement of two-dimensional birefringence distribution is described and discussed. This method can determine the relative retardation and the azimuthal angle of the fast axis in an optical component. In order to detect relative retardation with high resolution, a local-sampling phase shifting technique is proposed. This method can measure 256×256 values of the birefringent phase difference and azimuthal angle in a short time with ±0.02 deg (0.03 nm) of retardation accuracy.

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Most lenses composed of spherical or aspherical surfaces have symmetrical focusing properties about an optical axis. On the other hand, unconventional optical systems such as cylindrical lenses, astigmatic or progressive power glasses have axially asymmetrical focusing properties. In this study, the method of measuring focusing properties by the moire technique is extended to asymmetrical lenses. Some unconventional lenses were experimentally tested, and the focusing power in the interesting region and azimuthal direction of the aperture was evaluated.

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We propose an active triangulation based range-finding system that, besides its simplicity, has two advantages over similar existing systems. First, the system can acquire range data for large-depth objects since it generates an illumination pattern with large-depth of focus using Fresnel diffraction from a Ronchi grating projected over the entire object surface. Secondly, the system does not need preliminary recording of reference fringes since it displays simultaneously, on a single image, both reference and object deformed fringes. This system offers other properties: it is mechanically simple, uses everyday optical components, is low cost, can be operated via a PC and uses relatively simple image analysis software. Three dimensional reconstructions are illustrated for various objects having 10 cm maximum depth variations. The depth accuracy (typically 0.5 mm for an object located at 350 mm from the camera) is comparable with other systems, but a certain compromise has to be accepted in acquisition time (typically 1 minute). This system can find applications in research laboratories as a tool to provide range data with relatively good depth accuracy.

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We describe herein a method to measure quickly (in less than 2 min) and accurately the phase retardation between the extraordinary and ordinary axis of homogeneous or 0twisted nematic liquid crystal panels. Owing to the homodyne detection scheme, the setup allows us to probe liquid crystal (LC) panels with an optical power down to a fraction of 1 nW and, hence makes it possible to focus the light beam to a spot of only a few wavelengths in diameter without heating or inducing observable variations in the liquid crystal. The dependence of the phase retardation on the LC driver frequency and the temperature are presented and compared with the theoretical prediction.

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A new type of Hartmann test was developed using an optical fiber grating instead of the traditional Hartmann screen with multiple holes. A fiber-grating is made of short optical fibers arranged in single layers with no gaps between them. On illumination with laser light, the fiber-grating generates fan-like diverging multiple rays of almost equivalent intensities. Two gratings are overlapped at right angles to make multiple beams diverging in two directions. Rays reflected from test mirror surfaces converge to make a point focus provinding the sulface is free from aberrations. A CCD camera detects a spot pattern of beams near but out of focus, and a personal computer analyzes the spot patterns and calculates the figure error from a ideal surface. A few concave mirrors were analyzed by this method and the results compared with those obtained with a Fizeau interferometer. The data using the two systems were consistent with each other to within 1/10λ.

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Conventional phase Doppler systems are useful for sizing particles in the order of microns, but sensitive to the Gaussian beam defect which can cause sizing errors. The defect can be significant when a large size is measured. In this paper, we present a new phase Doppler system using a planar optical layout which permits large particles to be measured in a forward scattering scheme without the Gaussian beam errors. The optical system design is discussed by numerical simulation based on the Mie theory.

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In this paper, we describe the absolute positioning of a probe tip in a scanning Wiener fringe optical microscope (SWOM) using a synthetic wavelength method. Two laser beams with different wavelengths are superimposed and are incident on a sample surface. A synthetic fringe which has a longer period than that of the Wiener fringe obtained with a single wavelength is formed on the surface. The order of Wiener fringe which is utilized as a feedback signal in the microscope can be determined by the synthetic fringe. A sample with known structure was observed for various defined fringe orders using the SWOM.

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The authors propose a compact system for measuring a multispectral image within a short observation time. This system consists of a lens array and a polarization interferometer. The interferometer has two wedge-shaped liquid crystal layers. Images of an object created by the lens array are modulated with variable optical path differences by the interferometer and detected simultaneously by an image sensor. From the detected images, we can reconstruct the spectral image of the object. Experimental results are presented.

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