title: Pattern recognition with a bidirectionally coupled nonlinear-optical-element system.
abstract: A parallel pattern-recognition system composed of coupled-element tristable optical components is proposed. Each elemental component is an optical ring resonator in which three cells of nonlinear refractive-index material are placed between mirrors. The basic idea is derived from the symmetry-breaking instability caused by the unbalance between counterpropagating input light fields that excite the nonlinear refractive-index material (the cell) bidirectionally. Input spatial patterns composed of the arbitrary combinations of [0, 0, 0], [1, 1, 0], [0, 1, 1], and [1, 0, 1] are found to be recognized at once, yielding the capacity of 2/3 bit/cell.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otsuka