All-optical holographic code division multiple access switch

DETAILED DESCRIPTION These shortcomings and other limitations and deficiencies are obviated in accordance with the present invention by free-space optical switch, and concomitant method, based on the holographic CDMA technique, which is a spread-space CDMA technique--in contrast to conventional spread-spectrum and spread-time techniques.
In accordance with a broad system aspect of the present invention, a system for processing optical input signals to produce optical output signals includes: (1) a spatial light modulator coupled to the each of the optical input signals for encoding the corresponding one of the input optical signals; (2) a combiner for generating a linear combination of the optical signals emitted by each modulator; (3) a matched filter composed of a single hologram for receiving the linear combination; and (4) a two-dimensional microlens arrangement coupled to the matched filter wherein each of the optical output signals is obtained from a corresponding microlens in the arrangement.
In one preferred embodiment, the encoding is effected with a circularly shifted code set.
Broad method aspects of the present invention are commensurate with the aforementioned broad system aspects.