JPH01219725A - Optical switching element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform fast optical switching by forming a fluorescent material at part of an optical transmission line made of a transparent material, and applying energy to the fluorescent material and controlling a light signal of the optical transmission line. CONSTITUTION:The fluorescent material 3 is formed on optical transmission lines 1 and 2. When ultraviolet light is sent in from a terminal A of the optical transmission line 1, this ultraviolet light is absorbed by the fluorescent material 3 and converted into visible light, which is emitted from an end C. At this time, when infrared light is sent in from an end B, the luminescence operation is impeded by the negatively accelerated phosphorescence of the fluorescent material 3 and the visible light emission to the end C is reduced greatly. Namely, the emission of the visible light at the end C is controlled according to whether or not the infrared light is projected from the end B. Thus, the fast optical switching is realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an optical switching confectionery used in an optical computer.

[Summary of the Disclosure] This specification and drawings describe an optical switching element used in an optical computer in which a fluorescent substance is formed in a part of an optical transmission path made of a transparent material, and the exhaustion phenomenon of the fluorescent substance is utilized. The present invention discloses a technology for producing an optical switching element with a high speed and a simple structure by controlling an optical signal using an optical signal.

[Background Art] In recent years, with the increase in the speed of computer calculations and the increase in the amount of information, research on optical control devices has been progressing in place of conventional electronic control devices. Application of this optical control device is expected to lead to the realization of optical computers with ultra-high-speed calculations of "T (F)" in the future.

Currently, in the field of optical communications, multiplex transmission of a plurality of signals with different wavelengths in a specific wavelength region is being carried out, and handling large amounts of information at high speed has become the norm. Similarly, in the optical computer, it has been considered to perform multiple logical operations using different wavelength modes of light.

According to this, calculation efficiency can be improved by performing logical operations of a specific pattern in each wavelength mode.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Currently, various types of optical switching devices have been proposed, and some devices have even been developed for practical use. However, as mentioned above, optical computers require the ability to communicate and control signals between different wavelengths, so conventional optical switching elements that switch between signals of the same wavelength are Difficult to deal with.

Furthermore, existing electronic control elements that transmit information through electron movement cannot naturally be adapted to higher speeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical switching element that can control signals between different wavelengths.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The optical switching element according to the present invention forms a fluorescent substance in a part of an optical transmission line made of a transparent material, and by imparting energy to the fluorescent substance, the optical switching element It is characterized by controlling the optical signal of.

As the fluorescent substance, sulfides such as zinc sulfide, selenium compounds, etc. are used, but other substances may also be used as long as they exhibit a remarkable exhaustion phenomenon as fluorescent substances.In the present invention, organic fluorescent substances are used. May be used.

Further, as the energy imparted to the fluorescent substance, light, electromagnetic waves, heat, vibration, etc. can be used.

[Function] When ultraviolet light is irradiated onto the fluorescent material provided at the - section of the optical transmission path, the ultraviolet light is absorbed by the fluorescent material and converted into visible light. Here, when infrared light is applied to a fluorescent substance, the intensity of afterglow decreases rapidly due to an exhaustion phenomenon, and the emission of visible light is restricted. That is, control (switching) of visible light becomes possible by irradiating and non-irradiating with infrared light.

The present invention makes it possible to control signals between different wavelengths in this way, but the combination of signals to be controlled is
In addition to the above examples, it can be selected as appropriate depending on the fluorescent substance used.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an optical switching element according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 and 2 are optical transmission lines, and 3 is a fluorescent material. The optical transmission line 1 is made of a material that easily transmits ultraviolet light, such as quartz glass. On the other hand, the optical transmission line 2 is made of a material that easily transmits infrared light, such as fluoride glass. As the fluorescent substance 3, zinc sulfide or the like is used as described above.

Hereinafter, a case where signal control is performed between ultraviolet light, visible light, and infrared light will be explained as an example.

First, when ultraviolet light is sent from the A end of the optical transmission path 1, this ultraviolet light is absorbed by the fluorescent material 3, converted into visible light, and then emitted from the C end. At this time, when infrared light is sent from the B end, the fluorescent effect is hindered due to the exhaustion phenomenon of the fluorescent substance 3, and visible light emission to the C end is greatly reduced. That is,
Emission of visible light at the C end is controlled by irradiation or non-irradiation of infrared light from the B end.

Here, the exhaustion phenomenon refers to a phenomenon in which when the fluorescent substance 3 is irradiated with infrared light, the intensity of the afterglow decreases rapidly.

Figure 2 shows the state of signal control in this way. Figure 2 shows the time chart of each signal, where A is the ultraviolet light input signal, B is the infrared light switch signal, and C is the visible light input signal. As shown in figure 0, which shows the light output signal, when infrared light switch signal B is applied to ultraviolet light human input signal A, visible light output signal C is generated only when switch signal B is turned on. OFF-like 7g
becomes. However, in this case, since the output of the output signal C is not completely 0, ON or OFF is determined for a specific 4 value as shown by the dotted line. That is, if the exhaustion effect is incomplete, it is necessary to compare the output value with a reference value using a computer as the final calculation output.

In the embodiments described above, the optical transmission line may have a structure such as an optical fiber, and the signals A and B may be sent through the same optical transmission line using an optical fiber as shown in FIG.

Examples of the configuration of the optical transmission line are shown in FIGS. 4 to 6.

In FIG. 4, a switching operation is performed for a plurality of input signals A, and collective or selective control is possible.

In FIG. 5, a fluorescent substance 3 is heated by a heater 4, and this heating causes an exhaustion effect to be performed, thereby performing optical switching. In addition to the heater mentioned above, electromagnetic waves, vibrators, etc. can be used as the source. For example,
Microwave heating is also possible for organic phosphors.

In FIG. 6, the fluorescent material 3 is arranged in a dispersed or diffused manner, and the other configurations are almost the same as those in FIG. 3. Exactly the same effect can be obtained even if the fluorescent substance 3 is dispersed or diffused in this manner.

The device according to the present invention can also be used as an analog arithmetic device by controlling the intensity when applying energy such as ultraviolet light, heat, electromagnetic waves, etc. as described above.

Furthermore, depending on the type of fluorescent substance, there are some that have different peak wavelengths for fluorescence, phosphorescence, and exhaustion, and an element in which the mode of wavelength conversion becomes 3 or 4 states is also possible.

Further, depending on the fluorescent substance used, the wavelengths of the input light, switching light, and output light can be appropriately selected from infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, etc.

FIG. 7 is a plan view when the present invention is applied to a flat display. In FIG. 0, 11 is an optical fiber for ultraviolet light, and 12 is an optical fiber for infrared light. are arranged in a matrix, 11 and 1
A fluorescent substance 3 is sandwiched between the contact portions of 2. Reference numeral 10 denotes an electron beam source, which is configured to scan an end surface of an ultraviolet optical fiber 11 using a magnetic coil 5. The end face of the ultraviolet light optical fiber 11 is coated with an ultraviolet emitting substance 6, which emits ultraviolet light when hit by an electron beam. On the other hand, a liquid crystal shutter array 7 is arranged at the end of the infrared light optical fiber 12, and out of the infrared light from the infrared lamp 8, 0N1 is
0FF control is performed.

In the above configuration, for example, the intersection of the ultraviolet optical fiber 11, which is shown by a and is hit by the electron beam, and the infrared optical fiber 12, which is not hit by the infrared light, which is shown by b, shines particularly strongly compared to other parts. It turns out. Therefore, by sequentially scanning the electron beam from the electron beam source IO and correspondingly controlling 0N10FF of the liquid crystal shutter array 7, pixels (intersections of fibers) on the screen can be selectively illuminated. In this case, by changing the intensity of the electron beam, the light intensity of the pixel can also be changed, making it possible to display gradations.

In this embodiment, since the electron beam source IO only scans in one dimension, it does not require a large depth like a normal cathode ray tube.Of course, the ultraviolet light optical fiber 11
When a microelectron beam generation source is placed on each end face of the laser beam, the width in the lateral direction can also be reduced.

It is also possible to combine an ultraviolet lamp and a liquid crystal shutter array instead of an electron beam source, but the liquid crystal used needs to have high durability against ultraviolet rays. Is this PL? ↑The same applies to optical shutters such as elements.

[Effects of the invention] According to Suekan IJI, signals between different wavelengths can be easily controlled by applying the exhaustion phenomenon of fluorescent substances, and it is also possible to use electron transfer like existing devices. Since there is no , it is possible to increase the speed. By combining 4IF with an optical amplifier and a laser emitting element,
A circuit with an advanced arithmetic unit t@ can be created. Also, the application to infrared sensors is n1 me. Furthermore, since the structure is simple, the cost is low and manufacturing is easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an optical switching element,
Figure 2 is a time chart of each signal, Figures 3 to 6 are diagrams showing each configuration example of an optical transmission line, Figure 7 is a plan view when applied to a flat display, and Figure 8 is a diagram of an optical fiber. FIG. 1.2... Optical transmission line 3... Fluorescent material 4...
Heater 5... Magnetic coil 6... Ultraviolet emitting substance 7... Liquid crystal shutter array 8... Infrared lamp 11... Optical fiber for ultraviolet light 12... Optical fiber for infrared light

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) By forming a fluorescent substance on a part of the optical transmission path made of a translucent material and imparting energy to the fluorescent substance,
An optical switching element that controls an optical signal on the optical transmission line.