Abstract

The use of an optical processor to periorm 2-D correlations has been hampered by lack of a suitable real-time device capable of performing complex operations. Recently, however, degenerate four- wave mixing has emerged as a promising solution. White and Yariv¹ have demonstrated the ability of this particular technique to produce both the correlation and convolution of a given input signal. Using a similar setup to that of White and Yariv real-time correlation, with Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ as the nonlinear medium, has been performed in our laboratory. To optimize these experiments we have constructed a computer model to simulate the four-wave mixing process. Mathematically this model describes the interaction of the interfering light beams within the nonlinear medium in terms of an asymptotic series.

© 1984 Optical Society of America