Page 14 - Introduction to Information Optics

Preface

We live in a world bathed in light. Light is not only the source of energy
necessary to live — plants grow up by drawing energy from sunlight; light is
also the source of energy for information - our vision is based on light detected
by our eyes (but we do not grow up by drawing energy from light to our body
through our eyes). Furthermore, applications of optics to information technol-
ogy are not limited to vision and can be found almost everywhere. The
deployment rate of optical technology is extraordinary. For example, optical
fiber for telecommunication is being installed about one kilometer every second
worldwide. Thousands of optical disk players, computer monitors, and televi-
sion displays are produced daily.
The book summarizes and reviews the state of the art in information optics,
which is optical science in information technology. The book consists of 12
chapters written by active researchers in the field. Chapter 1 provides the
theoretical relation between optics and information theory. Chapter 2 reviews
the basis of optical signal processing. Chapter 3 describes the principle of fiber
optic communication. Chapter 4 discusses optical switches used for communi-
cation and parallel processing. Chapter 5 discusses integral transforms, which
can be performed optically in parallel. Chapter 6 presents the physics of optical
interconnects used for computing and switching. Chapter 7 reviews pattern
recognition including neural networks based on optical Fourier transform and
other optical techniques. Chapter 8 discusses optical storage including holo-
graphic memory, 3D memory, and near-field optics. Chapter 9 reviews digital