Optical flip-flop
First Claim
1. An optical flip-flop comprising:
- a phase-conjugating mirror;
a reflective element facing said phase-conjugating mirror;
means for initiating a reference beam of coherent electromagnetic radiation reflecting continuously between said phase-conjugating mirror and said reflective element along a path therebetween;
means for terminating said reference beam; and
means for deriving an output beam from said reference beam, said output beam being present only during such continuous reflection of said reference beam between said phase conjugating mirror and said reflective element.
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Abstract
An optical flip-flop comprises a phase-conjugating mirror; a one-way mirror having its reflective side facing the phase-conjugating mirror; a "set" light pulse directed towards the phase-conjugating mirror through the transmissive side of the one-way mirror for initiating a reference light beam which thereafter reflects continuously along an auto-collimating path between the mirrors; a normally transmissive optical gate along the path of the reference beam which is rendered nontransmissive relative thereto upon interaction with a "reset" light pulse; a plurality of filters positioned between the mirrors to prevent the self-starting of the reference beam therebetween; and means for deriving an output signal from the reference beam. An optical logic device comprises a plurality of such flip-flops sharing a single set of mirrors, whereby increased system compactness and simplicity is achieved.
17 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An optical flip-flop comprising:
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a phase-conjugating mirror; a reflective element facing said phase-conjugating mirror; means for initiating a reference beam of coherent electromagnetic radiation reflecting continuously between said phase-conjugating mirror and said reflective element along a path therebetween; means for terminating said reference beam; and means for deriving an output beam from said reference beam, said output beam being present only during such continuous reflection of said reference beam between said phase conjugating mirror and said reflective element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An optical flip-flop comprising
a phase-conjugating mirror; -
an element having a reflective surface facing said phase-conjugating mirror; means for providing a light pulse traveling along a first path between said phase-conjugating mirror and the reflective surface of said element for impingement upon said phase-conjugating mirror, said pulse initiating a first light beam which reflects continuously between said phase-conjugating mirror and the reflective surface of said element along said first path, said phase-conjugating mirror emitting a second light beam along a second path other than said first path during such continuous reflection of said first beam; and optical gate means positioned along said first path for preventing the continued reflection of said first beam between said phase-conjugating mirror and the reflective surface of said element, whereby the emission of said second beam by said phase-conjugating mirror is prevented. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. An optical logic device comprising
a phase-conjugating mirror; -
light reflecting means facing said phase-conjugating mirror; means for initiating a plurality of autocollimated reference light beams reflecting continuously between said phase-conjugating mirror and said light reflecting means along a plurality of discrete paths therebetween, respectively; means for selectively terminating said reference beams; and means for deriving an output light beam from each of said reference beams, respectively, each of said output beams being present only during such continuous reflection of its respective reference beam between said phase conjugating mirror and said light reflecting means. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification