Optical Processing Optical Communications Symbiosis or Convergence Essex

Optical Processing & Optical Communications: Symbiosis or Convergence Essex Corporation Terry Turpin Chief Scientist

Optical Processor/Computer? … a machine that performs mathematical functions with light rather than electrons Functions most frequently used • Fourier Transform (demultiplexing/multiplexing) • Correlation (pattern detection) • Data distribution and replication

Optical Computing History Tidbits ………. parallellism ……………speed and parallelism…… Optical processors were used to break the enigma code during World War II 1940’s Early Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) (Leigh, Cutrona) 1970’s Optical Spectrum Analyzers -Itek ATD 1968 -1978 • Search Receivers • Triple Product Processors • Tempest Optical Correlators (NSA) 1975 -1983

Specific Optical Processors Name Date of Application Units in Use IFT 1975 -1980 Signal Search 50 TOC 1985 50 Netzer 1980 Spread spectrum 4 Wanzer 1985 Cryptanalytic 2 Opaline 1981 Cryptanalytic 1 Washland 1984 Spread spectrum 2 Flemming 1966 Cryptanalytic 1 EW channelizer 1980 on ? Gingerbread 1981 Signal Search 4 roofman Im. Syn 1990 Image Synthesis 6 Labyrinth 1988 Spread Spectrum 2 SWAS 1998 Astronomy 1/4

History vs. Mythology History • Optical Computing is 50 years old • Mostly US Government Projects • Very Expensive • Component Technology – CLASSSIFIED • “Niche Technology” • Wideband signal analysis • cryptography Optical Computers Mythology • Too expensive for the Real World • Still CLASSIFIED • Built only by Ph. D’s • Rarity in the Real World REALITY TODAY: Optical Processors are successful & gaining widespread use

Evolution of Communications and Processing Bandwidth 1 Tbps • Starting with simple carrier Tx-Rx function • Carriers Groomed for greater capacity • “Grooming” becomes “Processing” as complexity grows el 1 bps 1840 ic n o r ect rs e i r ar opti cal c 1 Mbps arrie rs 1 Gbps c Optical Carrier Processing Digital Carrier Processing 1970 2000

Why go to Optical Processors? Advantages • Speed • Reduced size and power consumption • OEO Overhead & Cost are Excessive (optical - electrical - optical) • Natural Fit: Optical Processing for Optical Communications • Typical improvement is a factor of 50000

Cutting Edge Elements Materials • Photonic Crystals • Non-Linear Materials • Silicon Germanium • III-V & II-VI Materials Systems New Components • VCELS • Optical Fiber • Optical Amplifiers • SOA • EDFA • Optical Correlators • Optical Signal Processors Technology • Photon Echo • Optical Tap Delay • Solotons

Next Generation Tools Commercial Applications • Optical Switching • Optical Routing • Optical Packet Switching • Lambda Switching • Optical Spread Spectrum • Free Space Beam Tracking • More Bandwidth Capacity • Faster • Simpler • Cheaper • Lower Power Consumption

Future Optical Communications • Integrated optical processing will… – Improve Performance – Provide security – Provide switching and routing functions • Networks will tend to be more transparent • Networks will operate at lower power levels approaching the quantum limit

Ready for Prime Time? • Government continues to invest in compact supercomputing capability • Many commercial applications using supercomputing power at commercial prices • Telecom revolution has lowered the cost and improved the availability of optical components • Telecom and computing industries are confronting wideband signal processing requirements • Encryption • Channelization • Correlation

Where’s the Market? • Bandwidth demand continues to at least double each year • Vendor inventories from the “overbuild” are gone • Network is “at capacity” at many exchange points • Sales are happening • Metro and Access are building to increase sales and meet demand Source: IDC

Commercial Break. . Multi-user detection for spread spectrum comms Holographic 3 -D Synthetic Aperture Radar 3 D Images Communications & Networks Extreme Processing Solutions… IT Infrastructure Hyperfine WDM product family • Reconfigurable ADM • All optical equalizer • All optical privacy system • All optical CDMA • Wavelength router Radar Analysis Hypothesis tester for tracking targets 1 GHz bandwidth range Doppler radar processor Transformational Architectures and Build-Out … Through Light and Innovation

turpin@essexcorp. com