We demonstrate reconfigurable, data transparent optical interconnects between planes of optical thyristors using polarization-selective diffractive optical elements in combination with a liquid crystal based polarization controller. A reconfigurable fanout element and a switchable digital optical logical inverter are presented as examples of applications.

Free-space optical interconnects have been widely used in parallel optical information processing systems [1]. The growing complexity of the desired routing configurations has created an urgent need for data transparent, reconfigurable and flexible interconnections. Polarization has always played an important role in the realization of such interconnects, because of the possibility to route the optical data via an electro-optic control of its state of polarization.

We demonstrate a reconfigurable data transparent optical fanout operation and a switchable digital optical logical inverter between planes of optical thyristors using polarization-selective diffractive optical elements.

The significant progress which as been made in the development of differential pairs and arrays of differential pairs of light-emitting thyristors has made the construction of optical computing systems with high speed interconnections a realistic possibility. In this paper we review our work on the practical implementation of these optoelectronic transceiver devices in systems and demonstrate most of the basic functionalities necessary to build a primitive digital parallel optical processor. We demonstrate the transcription of digital optical data between cascaded single elements and between 8 by 8 arrays of completely- depleted optical thyristor differential pairs. We also show results of digital optical logic NAND, NOR, AND, OR, NOT operations, logic plane to logic plane imaging with a diffractive fan-out and parallel digital data input with a computer controlled liquid crystal micro- display. As an example of a sub-system module which has reasonable complexity we focus on a demonstrator platform which combines optical thyristor logic planes, polarization- selective diffractive optical elements, liquid crystal variable retarders and large diameter gradient index lenses, and successfully demonstrate dynamically reconfigurable nearest neighbor interconnects. We conclude by discussing the future system performances in the light of system scalability.

The significant progress which has been made in the development of arrays of optoelectronic surface emitting devices and micro-optical components has made the construction of optical computing systems with high speed optical interconnections a realistic possibility. In this paper we review our work on the practical implementation of differential pairs of optoelectronic transceiver devices in systems and demonstrate most of the basic functionalities necessary to build a primitive digital parallel optical processor. We conclude by discussing the future system performances in the light of system scalability.