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Disk-based optical correlator and method

  • US 5,339,305 A
  • Filed: 08/14/1992
  • Issued: 08/16/1994
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/14/1992
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An optical correlator comprising:

  • an optical recording medium said medium comprising an optical recording layer of a sufficient thickness for recording volume holographic information Boptical modulator means receiving an image signal representing one of (a) one of a set of template images or (b) an input image, and for modulating a coherent light beam to produce an image beam corresponding to said image signal;

    means for imaging said image beam on a selected spot on said optical recording medium in a first direction while Fourier transforming said image beam in a second direction orthogonal to said first direction on said selected spot on said optical recording mediumrecording reference beam source means, operable whenever said image signal represents successive respective ones of said set of template images, for projecting a reference beam onto said selected spot at successive respective angles relative to said optical recording medium, said reference beam being coherent with said coherent image beam, to form respective angularly multiplexed volume holograms in said optical recording layer at said spot;

    correlation means comprising plural line detectors aligned in said second direction at a correlation plane, operable whenever said image signal represents said input image, for sensing at respective line detectors Fourier transformed versions of respective patterns of said image beam diffracted by respective volume holograms in said selected spot, each of said patterns corresponding to a one-dimensional slice of a two-dimensional correlation of said input image with a corresponding one of said template images; and

    means for moving said optical recording medium in said first direction so as to scan said image beam across said spot, whereby to generate a two-dimensional correlation function for each one of said patterns.

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