System requirements and feasibility studies for optical modulators based on GaAs/AlGaAs multiquantum well structures for optical processing

Explores the potential of the optoelectronics programmable spatial light modulators (PSLM) based on GaAs/AlGaAs multiquantum well structure for optical processing systems. The authors focus on examining the system requirements for the rapid unbiased bipolar incoherent calculator (RUBIC) architecture from the point of view of dynamic range and signal to noise ratio. The physics of the modulator and the potential transmittance errors expected in state-of-art devices are discussed and correlated to system requirements. They find a dynamic range of 10/sup 3/ for multiplication in the RUBIC architecture should be possible for systems based on PSLM technology only if temperature control of +or-1 degrees K is possible.>