An introduction to optically bistable devices and photonic logic
Stanley Desmond Smith · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series A Mathematical and Physical Sciences · 1984
Abstract The physical principles of the phenomenon of optical bistability are described and it is shown that a family of devices or ‘optical circuit elements can be realized including memories, logic gates and amplifiers. The current range of materials employed and of properties demonstrated is reviewed: it is concluded that with the present state of knowledge a primitive optical computer could be demonstrated and that other signal-processessing devices are likely to emerge.