Navy Optical Processing Programs For Systems Applications - An Historical Overview
Joel Trimble · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1977
Optics provide a powerful tool where real-time processing of signals using correlations or fourier transforms are used. For this reason the Navy has from time to time explored optical processors. Each time they have ultimately been set aside in favor of other techniques, for reasons given here. In presenting this historical overview no attempt has been made to be encyclopedic. The Navy has and still does support research and development in many aspects of optics. Rather, a few highlights from a systems applications program point of view are touched upon that cover the past two decades.