ABSTRACT
The optical spatial light modulator (OSLM) has been one of the main elements that has raised optical computing from the realm of novelty to that of usefulness. This chapter discusses the usage of OSLM for various types of optical computing. On one hand, the chapter also discusses the older Fourier-transform optical computing based on the ability of a lens to perform a two-dimensional Fourier transform operation. On the other hand, it presents numerical optical computing where one thinks in terms of number crunching and logic operations similar to those used in electronic computers. This is again divided into two types depending on the arithmetic used. The chapter reviews the various types of spatial light modulators currently commercially available and also discusses some more sophisticated optical circuits. It briefly describes a simple design for an optical switching network. For a simple design it is also assumed that there are as many additional lines as there are other computers.
