This paper discusses the integration of optical/optoelectronic processing functions capable of operating on multiple C3I signals/data such as surveillance, electronic support measures (ESM), communication, intelligence, and imaging. The processor will operate on a broad spectrum of signals (HF to IR) provided by multispectral passive sensors, bistatic ESM, IR cameras, and multi-mode/band radar. The developed processor will support processing requirements for multifunction airborne surveillance and advanced space sensor systems. In addition, this paper will examine optical processors for adaptive null steering, adaptive beamforming, signal excision, and general purpose computation. The design of this processor will be based on utilizing the massive parallelism provided by optical interconnects and switches in addition to all optical memory for high volume but small size. Rapid access and interconnection of memory to the processor and its attendant effect will be critical to the design. The processor, as envisioned, will be capable of delivering greater than one trillion operations, such as content addressable memory comparisons, per second throughput and will utilize three-dimensional optical memory and optical interconnects in the implementation. The processor will be hybrid, marrying digital electronic modules enhanced by optical interconnects, optical switches, and optical memory to achieve a highly interactive, rapidly reconfigurable machine. This high performance optical processor will be able to integrate the following C3I systems: automatic signal identification, null steering in high density jammer environments, low observable target signals processing, and imagery.
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