JPH06131070A - Photoelectric arithmetic element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize an information processing system by performing a processing for plural information light at high speed, in a photoelectric arithmetic element transducing an inputted optical signal into an electric signal, calculating this electric signal and outputting the result. CONSTITUTION:Inputted positive and negative information light (light including positive and negative information) is received from a light receiving separation element 4 composed of light receiving elements 3a, 3b having different spectroscopic sensitivity characteristics, respectively, this information light is separated for every positive and negative information and electric signals 5a, 5b which are completely different with each other are outputted. In an arithmetic element 6, calculations such as a non-linear processing, a logical operations and an arithmetical operation, etc., are performed for the electric signals 5a, 5b and this arithmetic result is outputted as an electric signal 7. A positive and negative separation filter separating positive and negative information light may be provided on the light receiving separation element 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photoelectric operation element which converts an input optical signal into an electric signal, performs an operation on the electric signal, and outputs the operation result.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a phenomenon in which a substance absorbs light to generate free electrons (photoelectrons), or an effect of increasing electric conductivity or electromotive force due to generation of free electrons, that is, a photoelectric effect is known. .

Various photoelectric conversion elements for converting optical energy or optical signals into electric energy or electric signals by utilizing this photoelectric effect are known, and are used in various fields. For example, by transmitting a plurality of information lights as light whose wavelength is gradually changed by an optical fiber or the like, separating this light for each information, and converting each information light into an electric signal by a photoelectric conversion element, It is possible to transmit a plurality of pieces of information to each and perform processing for each piece of information.

[0004]

The photoelectric conversion element described above converts the information light into an electric signal separately for each information light,
This electric signal is output and processed by a processing system provided separately from the photoelectric operation element. Therefore, in the photoelectric conversion element described above, even if it is desired to simultaneously process a plurality of related information lights, or to generate new information by combining or operating a plurality of information, each information light Need to be converted into electric signals in separate photoelectric conversion elements, passed through a processing system prepared for each electric signal, and then processed for a plurality of desired signals, combined signals, and operated. Therefore, there is a problem that the processing system using this photoelectric conversion element becomes large and complicated, and further, the calculation time increases.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a photoelectric operation element and a photoelectric operation element layer capable of high-speed processing without increasing the size and complexity of the processing system.

[0006]

A first photoelectric operation element according to the present invention is a photoelectric operation element that converts an input optical signal into an electric signal, calculates the electric signal, and outputs the electric signal. By receiving multiple information lights (light having information),
A plurality of light receiving / separating elements for separating the plurality of information lights for each information and outputting as separate electric signals,
And a computing element for computing an electrical signal output by the light receiving / separating element and outputting an electrical signal corresponding to the computation result.

The first photoelectric operation element layer according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the first photoelectric operation element according to the present invention are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.

The second photoelectric operation element according to the present invention is a photoelectric operation element that converts an input optical signal into an electric signal, calculates the electric signal and outputs the electric signal, and comprises a plurality of adjacent filter means. , A plurality of input information lights are received, the plurality of information lights are separated for each information, and a light receiving separation element that outputs each as a separate electric signal, and an electric signal output by the light receiving separation element It is characterized by comprising an arithmetic element for performing an arithmetic operation and outputting an electric signal corresponding to the arithmetic result.

The second photoelectric operation element layer according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the second photoelectric operation element according to the present invention are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.

The third photoelectric operation element according to the present invention is a photoelectric operation element that converts an input optical signal into an electric signal, calculates the electric signal, and outputs the electric signal. Information light (light having positive and negative information) is received, and the positive and negative information lights are separated for each information,
It is characterized by comprising a pair of adjoining light receiving / separating elements which respectively output as separate electric signals, and an arithmetic element which arithmetically operates the electric signals output by the respective light receiving / separating elements and outputs an electric signal corresponding to the operation result. It is what

Furthermore, the third photoelectric operation element layer according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the third photoelectric operation element layers according to the present invention are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.

A fourth photoelectric operation element according to the present invention is a photoelectric operation element which converts an input optical signal into an electric signal, calculates the electric signal and outputs the electric signal, and a pair of adjacent filter means. A light-receiving / separating element that receives the input positive and negative information light, separates the positive and negative information light for each information, and outputs each as a separate electric signal; And an arithmetic element for calculating an electric signal output by the above and outputting an electric signal corresponding to the calculation result.

Furthermore, the fourth photoelectric operation element layer according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the fourth photoelectric operation element layers according to the present invention are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.

[0014]

In the first optical arithmetic element according to the present invention, a plurality of information lights (light having information) are separated into a plurality of pieces of information by the light receiving / separating element and are output as separate electric signals.
Then, each electric signal is calculated by the calculation element, and the electric signal corresponding to the calculation result is output.

That is, a plurality of pieces of information are, for example, lights of different wavelengths, and a plurality of light receiving elements having different spectral sensitivity characteristics are used to separate and receive the information light containing the plurality of pieces of information for each information. An electric signal for each information is obtained. Then, this electric signal can be calculated (addition, subtraction, multiplication, non-linear processing, etc.) by a calculation element, and the calculation result can be obtained as an electric signal. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for calculating the electric signal separately from the element, and one element can perform the separation and the calculation of the information light at the same time.

The second optical arithmetic element according to the present invention separates a plurality of information lights into a plurality of pieces of information by an information light separating filter, receives the separated plurality of pieces of information light by a plurality of light receiving elements, and separates them respectively. Is output as an electric signal, then each electric signal is calculated by a calculation element, and an electric signal corresponding to the calculation result is output.

That is, a plurality of pieces of information are, for example, lights having different wavelengths or lights having polarization planes having different angles, and the light receiving / separating element is provided with a filter means such as a filter or a polarizing plate, and the plurality of pieces of information light are supplied. The information signals are separated for each information, and the plurality of separated information lights are received by the plurality of light receiving elements to obtain electric signals for each information. Then, this electric signal is calculated by an arithmetic element (addition,
Subtraction, multiplication, non-linear processing, etc.), and the calculation result can be obtained as an electric signal. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for calculating the electric signal separately from the element, and one element can perform the separation and the calculation of the information light at the same time.

The third photoelectric operation element according to the present invention receives positive and negative information light by a pair of light receiving / separating elements, separates this information light into positive and negative information, and separates each information light. An electric signal is output, then each electric signal is calculated by an arithmetic element, and an electric signal corresponding to the calculation result is output.

That is, for example, as in the first optical operation element according to the present invention, positive and negative information are made to have lights of different wavelengths, and a pair of light receiving elements having different spectral sensitivity characteristics are used,
This positive and negative information light is separately received for each information, an electric signal for each positive and negative information is obtained, this electric signal is operated by the operation element, and the operation result can be obtained as an electric signal. . Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for performing the electric signal calculation separately from the element, and it is possible to perform the separation and the calculation of the information light at the same time with one element.

Further, the fourth photoelectric operation element according to the present invention comprises a light receiving separation element comprising a pair of filter means,
Positive and negative information light is received, this information light is separated for each positive and negative information, and each is output as a separate electric signal, and then each electric signal is calculated by a calculation element, and the result is calculated. It is designed to output an electric signal.

That is, as in the second optical arithmetic element according to the present invention, positive and negative information is made into light having different wavelengths or light having different polarization planes, and a filter means such as a filter or a polarizing plate is provided in the light receiving / separating element. In other words, the positive and negative information light is separated for each information, an electric signal for each positive and negative information is obtained, the electric signal is calculated by the arithmetic element,
The calculation result can be obtained as an electric signal. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for performing the electric signal calculation separately from the element, and it is possible to perform the separation and the calculation of the information light at the same time with one element.

Further, a plurality of first, second, third and fourth photoelectric operation elements according to the present invention may be arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally to form a photoelectric operation element layer.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a photoelectric operation element according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the photoelectric operation element 1 receives a positive information light having a red wavelength and outputs it as an electric signal 5a. The light receiving element 3a is composed of a photodiode or the like having a red sensitivity characteristic, and the like. A light receiving / separating element 4 including a light receiving element 3b formed of a photodiode or the like having a blue sensitivity characteristic, which receives negative information light having a blue wavelength and outputs this as an electric signal 5b, and this light receiving separation element 4 It is composed of a computing element 6 for computing the electrical signals 5a, 5b output from the above and outputting an electrical signal 7 corresponding to the computation result.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another structure of the photoelectric operation element according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the photoelectric operation element 1 receives a positive / negative signal separation filter 2 provided with a red filter 2a and a blue filter 2b adjacent to each other, and positive information light separated by the red filter 2a. Light receiving element 3a composed of a photodiode or the like for outputting as an electric signal 5a
And a light receiving element pair 3 including a light receiving element 3b formed of a photodiode or the like for receiving the negative information light separated by the blue filter 2b and outputting the negative information light as an electric signal 5b, and a light receiving separation element 4 The light receiving / separating element 4 is provided with a computing element 6 for computing the electrical signals 5a and 5b and outputting an electrical signal 7 corresponding to the computation result.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a plurality of photoelectric operation elements according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention are arranged in a two-dimensional layered form. A large number of photoelectric operation elements shown in FIG. 1 or 2 are arranged in a two-dimensional layer with the surface of the light receiving / separating element facing the input direction of the information light to form the photoelectric operation element layer 9. In the photoelectric operation element layer 9, a plurality of two-dimensional information lights 8 are received in parallel, the information light is separated inside each individual element, and the operation between the plurality of information lights is performed. The electric signal 10 of is output in parallel.

The photoelectric operation element layer 9 thus constructed is used in the following examples.

First, an embodiment of the present invention in which the photoelectric operation element layer 9 thus constructed is applied to the pre-processing of image processing will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration for edge enhancement of an input image, which is one of basic image processing, by the photoelectric operation element layer according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the information light received by the photoelectric operation element layer 9 is positive and negative 1
It is a pair of information light. As shown in FIG. 5, the positive signal is the two-dimensional image information 11 itself to be processed. On the other hand, the negative information is the image information 12 obtained by subjecting the two-dimensional image to be processed to a slight spatial blurring process or removing only the high frequency component. The image information 11 is input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 through the central portion 13a of the imaging lens provided with the red filter 13b. On the other hand, the image information 12 is inputted to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 by the imaging lens peripheral portion 14a provided with the blue filter 14b. Here, the slight blurring process to be added to the image information 11 can be easily performed by utilizing the low image forming characteristics of the peripheral portion of the image forming lens, the focus shift of the lens, the aberration and the like.

The photoelectric operation element layer 9 includes positive and negative information 11, 12 by a red filter and a blue filter provided for each element.
, Each information light is received by the light receiving element pair of each positive and negative information for each element, and the output of the light receiving element pair is calculated,
The two-dimensional electric signal 15 corresponding to the calculation result is output in parallel. In this example, the calculation performed in the light receiving element is multiplication of a positive signal and a negative signal by a constant value and subtraction of the results.

Two-dimensional image information processed by this
The principle of 11 edge enhancements will be described in more detail. 6 and 7 are views showing density cross sections of the image to be processed. In order to simplify the drawing, a one-dimensional density distribution profile chart is used in which the vertical axis represents the density of the image and the horizontal axis represents a one-dimensional cross section with the image. FIG. 6A is an example of the density distribution of the image itself to be processed. Figure 6
(b) is the center part 13 of the imaging lens provided with the red filter 13b.
It is a one-dimensional light intensity distribution of the information light image-formed and input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 by a. The blue filter is shown in Fig. 6 (c).
This is a one-dimensional light intensity distribution of the information light input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 by the imaging lens peripheral portion 14a provided with 14b, and the low imaging characteristics of the imaging lens peripheral portion, lens defocus, and aberration. The light intensity distribution obtained by spatially slightly blurring the density distribution of FIG.

When the information light having the pair of red and blue light intensity distributions is input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9, a red filter and a blue filter provided for each element of the photoelectric operation element layer The positive / negative information is separated by, the light receiving element pair receives each information light, and the light is output from the light receiving element pair. The positive and negative intensity distributions of this output are similar to those shown in FIGS. 6 (b) and 6 (c).

After that, which is an operation performed in each photoelectric operation element, first, as a first operation, the positive signal and the negative signal output from each light receiving element pair are multiplied by a constant value. A positive constant value is multiplied by both the positive signal and the negative signal to amplify the signal. In the case of the edge emphasis processing, the amplification factor for the positive signal is set to be larger than that for the negative signal. FIG. 7 (a) shows the result of amplifying the positive signal by 2 times and the negative signal by 1.5 times.

Next, as a second operation, subtraction processing of the amplified positive signal and negative signal is performed in each photoelectric operation element 9. FIG. 7C is an intensity distribution chart as a result of subtracting the amplified negative signal shown in FIG. 7B from the amplified positive signal shown in FIG. 7A. FIG. 6 representing the original image to be processed
Compared with (a), it can be seen that the density distribution at the edge is more emphasized.

Such edge enhancement processing can be performed digitally by using an electronic computer, but in the processing of the electronic computer, since the image information of each pixel is processed one by one, It has the drawback of being extremely time consuming to process. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, since one photoelectric operation element executes the process for one pixel, in principle, the processing time is one no matter how the size (number of pixels) of the processed image is increased. The processing time is the same as that of the photoelectric operation element, and extremely high-speed processing is possible as a whole. Further, there is a parallel electronic computer having a plurality of arithmetic devices, but in such a parallel electronic computer, it is necessary to synchronize the processing between the arithmetic elements in order to efficiently perform the entire parallel arithmetic. There is. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, since the operation of each photoelectric operation element may be asynchronous, it is not necessary to synchronize each element, that is, even if there is some variation in the processing speed between each element, the processing result There is also an advantage that there is no effect on.

Next, the photoelectric operation element layer 9 is formed one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.
An embodiment of the present invention applied to remove shading of dimensional spatial information will be described in detail. Shading refers to the undulation of the signal strength over the entire signal, which is caused by variations in the sensitivity of the detector in signal detection and the like.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration for removing shading of two-dimensional spatial information by the photoelectric operation element layer according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the information light received by the photoelectric operation element layer 9 is a pair of positive and negative information light. The positive signal is the two-dimensional spatial information 16 itself to be processed. On the other hand, the negative information is the spatial information 17 in which a large spatial blurring process is added to the two-dimensional spatial information to be processed or only the low frequency component is extracted. Spatial information
16 is the central part 18a of the imaging lens provided with the red filter 18b.
Then, the spatial information 16 'is input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9. On the other hand, the spatial information 17 is input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 through the imaging lens peripheral portion 19a provided with the blue filter 19b. Here, the large blurring process to be added to the spatial information 16 can be easily performed by utilizing the low image forming characteristics of the peripheral portion of the image forming lens, the lens defocus, the aberration, and the like.

The photoelectric operation element layer 9 includes positive / negative information 16 ', a red filter and a blue filter provided for each element.
17 is separated, each information light is received by the light receiving element pair of each positive and negative information for each element, the output of the light receiving element pair is calculated, and the two-dimensional electric signal 20 corresponding to the calculation result is output in parallel. In this example, the operations performed in the light receiving element are multiplication of a positive signal, a negative signal and a constant value, subtraction of the results, and addition of a constant value to the subtraction result.

Two-dimensional spatial information processed by this
The principle by which 16 shadings can be removed will be described in more detail. 9, 10 and 11 are diagrams showing intensity cross sections of spatial information to be processed. In order to simplify the figure, a one-dimensional intensity distribution profile chart is used in which the vertical axis represents the intensity of spatial information and the horizontal axis represents a one-dimensional cross section having spatial information. FIG. 9A is an example of the intensity distribution of the spatial information itself to be processed. FIG. 9B is a one-dimensional light intensity distribution of the information light image-formed and input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 by the image forming lens central portion 18a provided with the red filter 18b.
Further, FIG. 9C shows a one-dimensional light intensity distribution of the information light input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 by the imaging lens peripheral portion 19a provided with the blue filter 19b. The intensity distribution of FIG. 9 (a) is spatially greatly blurred by utilizing the low characteristics, lens defocus, and aberration.

When the information light having the pair of red and blue light intensity distributions is input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9, a red filter and a blue filter provided for each element of the photoelectric operation element layer are detected. The positive / negative information is separated by, the light receiving element pair receives each information light, and the light is output from the light receiving element pair. The intensity distribution of this output is positive and negative, as shown in Fig. 9 (b) and Fig. 9 respectively.
The distribution is similar to that shown in (c).

After that, the calculation is performed in each photoelectric calculation element. First, as a first calculation, the positive signal and the negative signal output from each light receiving element pair are multiplied by a constant value. Both positive and negative signals are multiplied by a positive constant value and the signal is amplified, but in the case of shading removal processing,
The amplification factor for the positive signal is made equal to that for the negative signal. FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) show the results of triple amplification of both positive and negative signals.

Next, as a second operation, subtraction processing of the amplified positive signal and negative signal is performed in each photoelectric operation element.
FIG. 11 (a) is an intensity distribution diagram of the result of subtracting the amplified negative signal from the amplified positive signal shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b), respectively.

Finally, as a third operation, a constant value is added to the subtraction result. The addition of this constant value corresponds to the application of bias. The constant value is set to an appropriate value so that the addition results are all positive values. FIG. 11 (b) is an intensity distribution chart of the result of adding a constant value to the subtraction result. It can be seen that the shading is removed by comparison with the original spatial information of FIG. 9 (a).

Such shading removal processing can be performed digitally by using an electronic computer, but in the processing of the electronic computer, since spatial information of each point is processed one by one, It has the drawback of being extremely time consuming to process. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, since one photoelectric operation element executes the processing per one point, no matter how the size of spatial information (the number of data points) is increased in principle, the processing time is one. The processing time is the same as that of the photoelectric operation element, and extremely high-speed processing is possible as a whole. Further, there is a parallel electronic computer having a plurality of arithmetic devices, but in such a parallel electronic computer, it is necessary to synchronize the processing between the arithmetic elements in order to efficiently perform the entire parallel arithmetic. There is. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the operation of each photoelectric operation element may be asynchronous, so it is not necessary to synchronize each element, that is,
There is also an advantage that even if there is some variation in the processing speed among the respective elements, the processing result is not affected at all.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention in which the photoelectric operation element layer 9 is applied to the extraction of a moving object will be described in detail.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a structure for extracting a moving object by the photoelectric operation element layer according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the information light received by the photoelectric operation element layer 9 is the two-dimensional image information 21 itself that changes with time. The image information 21 is an imaging lens as two-dimensional information light.
The image information 21 ′ is input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 by 22.

The photoelectric operation element layer 9 receives the information light by a pair of light receiving element pairs A and B for each element, calculates the output signal A and the output signal B from the light receiving element pair, and performs the operation. The two-dimensional electric signal 23 corresponding to the result is output in parallel. In this embodiment, the calculation performed in the light receiving element is a delay calculation for the signal B and a subtraction of the signal A and the delayed signal B.

The principle by which a moving object can be extracted from the two-dimensional image information 21 which changes with time and is processed by this will be described in more detail. 13 and 14 are views showing density cross sections of an image to be processed. In order to simplify the drawing, a one-dimensional density distribution profile chart is used in which the vertical axis represents the density of the image and the horizontal axis represents a one-dimensional cross section with the image. FIG. 13A is an example of the density distribution of the image to be processed at a certain time (t). FIG. 13 (b) is a concentration distribution at a time (t + α) slightly after a certain time t. This example shows a bright 2 in the center
Only the right object of the two objects has moved a little from right to left during the time (t) to the time (t + α).

When the information light having the light intensity distribution that changes from the time (t) to the time (t + α) is sequentially input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9, each element of the photoelectric operation element layer is Optical signals are sequentially received by the light receiving element pairs, and are sequentially output as electric signals from the light receiving element pairs. Similar to the distributions shown in Figs. 13 (a) and 13 (b), the intensity distributions of this output represent the movement of the object from right to left between time (t) and time (t + α). It becomes a thing.

FIG. 14A shows the time (t + α) from the light receiving element A.
14B shows the intensity distribution of the information light output with no time delay, and FIG. 14 (b) shows the intensity of the optical signal at time (t + α) obtained as a result of delay calculation on the electric signal output from the light receiving element B. It is a figure showing distribution.

Here, although the calculation is performed in each photoelectric calculation element, as a first calculation, a delay calculation to a signal output from the light receiving element B which is one of the light receiving element pairs is performed. Here, the delay calculation means a calculation for delaying the electric signal output from the light receiving element B by a certain time at a certain time (t). As a method of executing the delay calculation, an analog electric circuit having a delay in response time, a digital circuit having a data holding buffer, or the like is used.

Next, as a second operation, a subtraction process between the two electric signals having the thus obtained time difference α is performed in each photoelectric operation element. FIG. 14 (c) is an intensity distribution chart of the subtraction result between these two signals. From this intensity distribution, the existence of a moving object can be easily known, and extraction can be performed.

Such moving object extraction processing can be performed digitally using an electronic computer, but in the processing of the electronic computer, image information of each pixel is processed one by one. However, there is a drawback that the processing takes a very long time, and especially in the case of information processing that changes with time, such as extraction of a moving object, a processing speed which is considered to be very high even if a computer is used. Is often not obtained. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, since one photoelectric operation element executes the process for one pixel, in principle, the processing time is one no matter how the size (number of pixels) of the processed image is increased. The processing time is the same as that of the photoelectric operation element, and extremely high-speed processing is possible as a whole. Further, there is a parallel electronic computer having a plurality of arithmetic devices, but in such a parallel electronic computer, it is necessary to synchronize the processing between the arithmetic elements in order to efficiently perform the entire parallel arithmetic. There is. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, since the operation of each photoelectric operation element may be asynchronous, it is not necessary to synchronize each element, that is, even if there is some variation in the processing speed between each element,
There is also an advantage that the processing result is not affected at all.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention in which the photoelectric operation element layer 9 is applied to a pattern logic will be described in detail.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration for performing pattern logic by the photoelectric operation element layer according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the information light received by the photoelectric operation element layer 9 is a plurality of two-dimensional binary pattern information 24a, 24b,
24c. The two-dimensional binary pattern information is input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 as two-dimensional light pattern information by the imaging lenses 25a, 25b and 25c.

The photoelectric operation element layer 9 receives information light by a plurality of light receiving elements for each element, calculates output signals from the plurality of light receiving elements, and outputs a two-dimensional electric signal 23 corresponding to the operation result. Are output in parallel. In the present embodiment, the operation performed in the light receiving element is a logical operation with a plurality of inputs and one output.

The principle by which the pattern logic result can be output from the plurality of two-dimensional pattern information 24a, 24b, 24c processed by this will be described in more detail.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are diagrams showing 0 and 1 patterns of the two-dimensional pattern information to be processed, where the white portions in the figures represent 1 and the shaded portions represent 0. Note that a case where three types of pattern information are handled as a plurality of input pattern information will be described here. Figures 16 (a), (b) and (c) show the pattern information to be processed. As shown in FIG. 15, these three types of pattern information light are simultaneously input to the photoelectric operation element layer 9 as optical signals 27a, 27b, and 27c having different light wavelengths, that is, red, green, and blue colors.

The photoelectric operation element layer 9 separates three kinds of information light 27a, 27b, 27c by a red filter, a green filter and a blue filter provided for each element, and three kinds of information for each element. Each information light is received by the light receiving element group of
The output of the light receiving element group is calculated, and the two-dimensional electric signal 26 corresponding to the calculation result is output in parallel. In the present embodiment, the calculation performed in the light receiving element is a 3-input 1-output logical calculation in which three types of signals are input. More specifically, this operation is 3
Outputs 1 only when the seed input signals are all 1s, and outputs 0 if any of them is not 1. 3
This is an input AND operation. FIG. 17 shows the pattern output resulting from the 3-input AND operation. It can be seen that the three-input AND operation is executed by comparing the input three types of pattern diagrams 16 (a), (b) and (c).

Such three-input AND operation processing can be performed digitally by using an electronic computer, but in the processing of the electronic computer, one point forming a pattern is used.
Since the point spatial information is processed one by one, there is a disadvantage that the processing takes a very long time. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, since one photoelectric processing element executes the processing per one point, no matter how the size of the pattern information (the number of data points) is increased in principle, the processing time is one. The processing time is the same as that of the photoelectric operation element, and extremely high-speed processing is possible as a whole. Further, there is a parallel electronic computer having a plurality of arithmetic devices, but in such a parallel electronic computer, it is necessary to synchronize the processing between the arithmetic elements in order to efficiently perform the entire parallel arithmetic. There is. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, since the operation of each photoelectric operation element may be asynchronous, it is not necessary to synchronize each element, that is, even if there is some variation in the processing speed between each element, the processing result There is also an advantage that there is no effect on.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention in which an optical neuron element is constructed by combining the above-described photoelectric operation element with a light modulation element will be described.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the photoelectric operation element 1 is combined with a light modulation element to form an optical neuron element.

As shown in FIG. 18, the optical neuron element 30
Is a photoelectric operation element 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a transparent electrode.
A transmissive light modulation element 33 composed of a transmissive liquid crystal 32 sandwiched by 31a and 31b, and a polarizer sandwiching the light modulation element 33.
It consists of 34a and 34b.

An optical signal in which the excitatory and inhibitory information lights are represented by blue light and red light by the optical neuron element 1 and the excitatory and inhibitory information lights are represented by blue light and red light in the optical neuron element 1 respectively 35 Are simultaneously irradiated, the blue filter 2a and the red filter 2b of the signal separation filter 2 of the light receiving / separating element 4
This separates the excitatory and inhibitory information lights from each other. The separated information lights are respectively received by the light receiving elements 3a and 3b, and output as an electric signal 5a representing the excitatory information light and an electric signal 5b representing the suppressive information light. The output electric signals 5a and 5b are subjected to arithmetic processing of subtraction and non-linear processing similar to the arithmetic in the nerve cells of the living body by the arithmetic element 6, whereby the electric signal 7 corresponding to the arithmetic result is output. The optical modulator 33 is modulated according to the electric signal 7. When the light modulator 33 is modulated in this way, the light modulator
33 is irradiated with read light 36 such as white light, and the read light 36
Is polarized by the polarizer 34a, is transmission-modulated by the light modulator 33, and is output as light intensity information 37 by the polarizer 34b.

A plurality of optical neuron elements 30 having such a function are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally to form an optical neuron layer which outputs information light composed of light output from each optical neuron element. Then, a constituent unit of the optical neural network including the optical neuron layer and the weighting means for outputting the weighted information light by weighting the information light output by being modulated by the optical neuron layer is constructed. An optical neural network can be configured by combining a plurality of optical neural networks.

The arithmetic processing of such a neural network can be performed digitally by using an electronic computer. However, in the processing of the electronic computer, the activity information for each neuron, which is a nerve cell, is processed step by step. However, there is a drawback in that it takes a very long time to process. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the processing per neuron is 1
Since one photoelectric operation element executes, no matter how the size of the neural network (the number of neurons) increases in principle, the processing time does not change from the processing time of one photoelectric operation element. It enables high-speed processing. Further, there is a parallel electronic computer having a plurality of arithmetic devices, but such a parallel electronic computer has a problem that it is necessary to perform processing between arithmetic elements in synchronization in order to efficiently perform the entire parallel arithmetic. is there. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, since the operation of each photoelectric operation element may be asynchronous, it is not necessary to synchronize each element, that is, even if there is some variation in the processing speed between each element, the processing result There is also an advantage that there is no effect on. Further, from the fact that the information processing by the nerve cells of the living body is also performed asynchronously, it can be said that the neural network as in the embodiment of the present invention is superior to the processing of the living body.

Further, the photoelectric operation element according to the present invention can be used alone without being constructed in layers, and can be applied as a detection element of a rotary encoder, for example. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration for detecting a rotary encoder by a photoelectric operation element that is an embodiment of the present invention. In this case, two pieces of information light are two pieces of pulsed light that are irradiated on the grid of the rotating encoder while being slightly displaced in position, reflected, or transmitted, and the difference between the pulsed lights is calculated by an arithmetic element. The calculation result is the moving direction of the object.

The light is reflected and transmitted through the grid 40 of the rotating encoder, which is irradiated with a slight positional deviation.
The principle by which the moving direction of the object can be detected from the two pulsed lights 41a and 41b will be described in more detail. Figure 20 (a),
(b) is a diagram showing two pulsed lights, in which the vertical axis represents the intensity of the pulsed light and the horizontal axis represents time. Since the two pulsed lights are irradiated with a slight positional shift and are reflected or transmitted, the timings of the signals in FIG. 20 (a) and those in FIG. 20 (b) are slightly shifted. There is.

These pulse information lights are converted into the photoelectric operation element layer 9
Sequentially input to each element of the photoelectric operation element layer,
Optical signals are sequentially received by the light receiving element pairs, and are output as electrical signals from the light receiving element pairs. This output is
It will be similar to 20 (a) and Figure 20 (b).

Here, although the calculation is performed in each photoelectric operation element, the subtraction process between two electric signals is performed in each photoelectric operation element. FIG. 20 (c) shows the result of subtraction between these two signals. From this result, the rotation direction of the rotary encoder can be known from the positive or negative sign of the calculation result at the time of rising of the electric signal.

[0071]

As described in detail above, the photoelectric operation element according to the present invention separates a plurality of information lights and performs an operation process of the information lights in one element, and outputs the operation result as an electric signal. By doing so, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for performing calculations separately from the elements, and the processing system to which this photoelectric operation element is applied can be miniaturized and simplified.

Further, since it is not necessary to carry out the calculation for each information light, the light reception and the calculation can be carried out by one element, so that the information light can be processed at high speed.

Further, any processing such as logical operation and non-linear processing can be performed on the input information light.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a photoelectric operation element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a photoelectric operation element according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a plurality of photoelectric operation elements according to an embodiment of the present invention are arranged in a two-dimensional layered form.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration in which edge enhancement is performed by a photoelectric operation element layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing image information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a density distribution of an image to be processed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a density distribution of an image to be processed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration for removing shading by a photoelectric operation element layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an intensity cross section of spatial information to be processed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an intensity cross section of spatial information to be processed.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a signal with shading removed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a moving object is extracted by a photoelectric operation element layer according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a density section of an image to be processed.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a density section of an image to be processed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration for performing pattern logic by a photoelectric operation element layer according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a 0, 1 pattern of two-dimensional pattern information to be processed.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing 0, 1 patterns of processed two-dimensional pattern information.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which an optical neuron element is configured by combining a photoelectric operation element with a light modulation element.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a rotary encoder is detected by a photoelectric operation element layer according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing two pulsed lights.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 photoelectric operation element 2 positive / negative signal separation filter 3 light receiving element 4 light receiving separation element 5a, 5b, 7 electrical signal 6 arithmetic element

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] October 4, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0013

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Furthermore, the fourth photoelectric operation element layer according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the fourth photoelectric operation element layers according to the present invention are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0019

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

That is, for example, as in the first photoelectric operation element according to the present invention, positive and negative information is made into lights of different wavelengths, and a pair of light receiving elements having different spectral sensitivity characteristics are used,
This positive and negative information light is separately received for each information, an electric signal for each positive and negative information is obtained, this electric signal is operated by the operation element, and the operation result can be obtained as an electric signal. . Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for performing the electric signal calculation separately from the element, and it is possible to perform the separation and the calculation of the information light at the same time with one element.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0021

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

That is, similar to the second photoelectric operation element according to the present invention, the positive and negative information is made into light having different wavelengths or light having different polarization planes, and the light receiving / separating element is provided with a filter means such as a filter or a polarizing plate. In other words, the positive and negative information light is separated for each information, an electric signal for each positive and negative information is obtained, the electric signal is calculated by the arithmetic element,
The calculation result can be obtained as an electric signal. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for performing the electric signal calculation separately from the element, and it is possible to perform the separation and the calculation of the information light at the same time with one element.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0022

[Correction method] Delete

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] October 6, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0013

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Furthermore, the fourth photoelectric operation element layer according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the fourth photoelectric operation element layers according to the present invention are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0019

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

That is, for example, as in the first photoelectric operation element according to the present invention, positive and negative information is made into lights of different wavelengths, and a pair of light receiving elements having different spectral sensitivity characteristics are used,
This positive and negative information light is separately received for each information, an electric signal for each positive and negative information is obtained, this electric signal is operated by the operation element, and the operation result can be obtained as an electric signal. . Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for performing the electric signal calculation separately from the element, and it is possible to perform the separation and the calculation of the information light at the same time with one element.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0021

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

That is, similar to the second photoelectric operation element according to the present invention, the positive and negative information is made into light having different wavelengths or light having different polarization planes, and the light receiving / separating element is provided with a filter means such as a filter or a polarizing plate. In other words, the positive and negative information light is separated for each information, an electric signal for each positive and negative information is obtained, the electric signal is calculated by the arithmetic element,
The calculation result can be obtained as an electric signal. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a processing system for performing the electric signal calculation separately from the element, and it is possible to perform the separation and the calculation of the information light at the same time with one element.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0022

[Correction method] Delete

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An input optical signal is converted into an electrical signal,
A photoelectric calculation element for calculating and outputting the electric signal, receiving a plurality of input information lights, separating the plurality of information lights for each information, and outputting each as a separate electric signal. A photoelectric calculation element comprising: a plurality of light receiving / separating elements and an arithmetic element that calculates an electric signal output by the light receiving / separating element and outputs an electric signal corresponding to a calculation result. 2. A photoelectric operation element layer comprising a plurality of photoelectric operation elements according to claim 1 arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally. 3. The input optical signal is converted into an electric signal,
A photoelectric operation element for calculating and outputting the electric signal, comprising a plurality of adjacent filter means, receiving a plurality of input information light and separating the plurality of information light for each information, A photoelectric operation element comprising: a light receiving / separating element that outputs each as an independent electric signal; and an operation element that operates the electric signal output by the light receiving / separating element and outputs an electric signal corresponding to the operation result . 4. A photoelectric operation element layer comprising a plurality of photoelectric operation elements according to claim 3 arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally. 5. An input optical signal is converted into an electric signal,
A photoelectric operation element that calculates and outputs the electric signal, receives positive and negative information light that has been input, separates the positive and negative information light for each information, and separates each electric signal. A photoelectric operation characterized by comprising a pair of adjacent light receiving / separating elements for outputting as signals, and an operation element for operating the electric signals output by the respective light receiving / separating elements and outputting an electric signal corresponding to the operation result element. 6. A photoelectric operation element layer comprising a plurality of photoelectric operation elements according to claim 5 arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally. 7. An input optical signal is converted into an electric signal,
A photoelectric operation element for calculating and outputting the electric signal, which comprises a pair of adjacent filter means, receives the input positive and negative information light, and outputs the positive and negative information light for each information. And a computing element for computing the electrical signal output by each of the light receiving and separating elements and outputting an electrical signal corresponding to the computation result. Photoelectric conversion element. 8. A photoelectric operation element layer comprising a plurality of photoelectric operation elements according to claim 7 arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.