Sources and circuits for high performance smart-pixel based optical interconnections

A common problem confronting the realization of optoelectronic interconnection processors over the last several years is the ability to both perform logical operations (i.e. computations) and rapidly and dynamically reconfigure the processor in a compact and simple manner. In past work in our laboratory, we demonstrated a fully integrated, optically powered, optoelectronic “smart pixel”. This circuit has the ability to operate variously as an optoelectronic amplifier, bistable switch, inverter and latch. By making minor variations of that first circuit, we can employ it in a novel, and very simple optoelectronic processor which has the ability to both perform logic and dynamically route large 2D arrays of data