A universal logic element for optical computing

It is shown that any n variable boolean function can be implemented with a 2^n-1-to-one multiplexer. The ability to perform combinational and sequential logic gives the element universal computability. The choice of the multiplexer width represents a trade-off between the number of elements and the redundancy in a system. Examples of commonly occurring logic in systems are presented. These show that the optimum choice of width is four-to-one