Complex data processing system employing incoherent optics

Claim 1

An optical information processing system comprising: a. a source of light energy having a predetermined minimum temporal coherence adequate to sepaRate angularly coded diffracted components for directing light along the optic axis of said system, b. a first light modulating medium disposed along said axis including a plurality of resolution elements, each of which comprises magnitude and encoded phase components of first input data entered in the form of individual diffraction gratings, said gratings diffracting incident light with an intensity corresponding to the magnitude and at an angle to said optic axis corresponding to the phase of the input data encoded in each grating, c. a first spatial filter disposed along said axis in a spatial frequency plane for transmitting information-bearing light components from elements of said first medium restricted to a single diffraction order and embracing the diffraction angles into which said phase data is coded in elements of said first medium, d. a second light modulating medium disposed along said axis including a second plurality of resolution elements, each of which comprises magnitude and encoded phase components of a second input data entered in the form of individual diffraction gratings, said gratings diffracting incident light with an intensity corresponding to the magnitude and at an angle to said optic axis corresponding to the phase of the input data encoded in each grating, e. first means including said first spatial filter for imaging the filtered light components from elements of said first medium upon corresponding elements of said second medium with an intensity and incident angle corresponding, respectively, to the magnitude and encoded phase components of said first input data, f. a second spatial filter disposed along said axis in a spatial frequency plane for transmitting information-bearing light components from said second medium restricted to a single diffraction order and embracing diffraction angles corresponding to the sums of the first and second medium''s diffraction angles, and g. output detection means upon which information-bearing light components transmitted by said second spatial filter impinge, displaced from said optic axis and in a spatial frequency plane, said output means having additional spatial selectivity for resolving and detecting individual diffraction angles of said impinging light components to obtain the sums of said successive diffraction angles for corresponding resolution elements in said two media and thereby obtaining product terms consistent with the rules of vector multiplication.