Marc P. Christensen

Description and evaluation of the FAST-Net smart pixel-based optical interconnection prototype

The design, packaging approach, and experimental evaluation of the free-space accelerator for switching terabit networks (FAST-Net) smart-pixel-based optical interconnection prototype are described. FAST-Net is a high-throughput data-switching concept that uses a reflective optical system to globally interconnect a multichip array of smart pixel devices. The three-dimensional optical system links each chip directly to every other with a dedicated bidirectional parallel data path. in the experiments, several prototype smart-pixel devices were packaged on a common multichip module (MCM) with interchip registration accuracies of 5-10 /spl mu/m. The smart-pixel arrays (SPAs) consist of clusters of oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and photodetectors that are solder bump-bonded to Si integrated circuits. The optoelectronic elements are arranged within each cluster on a checkerboard pattern with 125-/spl mu/m pitch. The experimental global optical interconnection module consists of a mirror and lens array that are precisely aligned to achieve the required interchip parallel connections between up to 16 SPAs. Five prototype SPAs were placed on the MCM to allow the evaluation of a variety of interchip links. Measurements verified the global link pattern across several devices on the MCM with high optical resolution and registration. No crosstalk between adjacent channels was observed after alignment. The I/O density and efficiency results suggest that a multi-terabit switch module that incorporates global optical interconnection to overcome conventional interconnection bottlenecks is feasible.

Unified Blind Method for Multi-Image Super-Resolution and Single/Multi-Image Blur Deconvolution

This paper presents, for the first time, a unified blind method for multi-image super-resolution (MISR or SR), single-image blur deconvolution (SIBD), and multi-image blur deconvolution (MIBD) of low-resolution (LR) images degraded by linear space-invariant (LSI) blur, aliasing, and additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). The proposed approach is based on alternating minimization (AM) of a new cost function with respect to the unknown high-resolution (HR) image and blurs. The regularization term for the HR image is based upon the Huber-Markov random field (HMRF) model, which is a type of variational integral that exploits the piecewise smooth nature of the HR image. The blur estimation process is supported by an edge-emphasizing smoothing operation, which improves the quality of blur estimates by enhancing strong soft edges toward step edges, while filtering out weak structures. The parameters are updated gradually so that the number of salient edges used for blur estimation increases at each iteration. For better performance, the blur estimation is done in the filter domain rather than the pixel domain, i.e., using the gradients of the LR and HR images. The regularization term for the blur is Gaussian (L2 norm), which allows for fast noniterative optimization in the frequency domain. We accelerate the processing time of SR reconstruction by separating the upsampling and registration processes from the optimization procedure. Simulation results on both synthetic and real-life images (from a novel computational imager) confirm the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Performance scaling comparison for free-space optical and electrical interconnection approaches

Projected performance metrics of free-space optical and electrical interconnections are estimated and compared in terms of smart-pixel input-output bandwidth density and practical geometric packaging constraints. The results suggest that three-dimensional optical interconnects based on smart pixels provide the highest volume, latency, and power-consumption benefits for applications in which globally interconnected networks are required to implement links across many integrated-circuit chips. It is further shown that interconnection approaches based on macro-optical elements achieve better scaling than those based on micro-optical elements. The scaling limits of micro-optical-based architectures stem from the need for repeaters to overcome diffraction losses in multichip architectures with high bisection bandwidth. The overall results provide guidance in determining whether and how strongly a free-space optical interconnection approach can be applied to a given multiprocessor problem.

Enhancing form factor and light collection of multiplex imaging systems by using a cubic phase mask

The bulky form factor of traditional optical sensors limits their utility for certain applications. Flat multiplex imaging-sensor architectures face the light-gathering challenges inherent with small collection apertures. We examine a wavefront-coding approach wherein a cubic phase mask is used to increase the aperture sizes of multiplex imaging systems while maintaining the distance from the lens to the detector array. The proposed approach exploits the ability of cubic-phase-mask systems to operate over a large range of misfocus values. An exact expression for the optical transfer function of cubic-phase-mask systems is presented, and its misfocus-dependent spatial-filtering properties are described. Criteria for form-factor enhancement are assessed and trade-offs encountered in the design process are evaluated.

Adaptive flat multiresolution multiplexed computational imaging architecture utilizing micromirror arrays to steer subimager fields of view

A thin, agile multiresolution, computational imaging sensor architecture, termed PANOPTES (processing arrays of Nyguist-limited observations to produce a thin electro-optic sensor), which utilizes arrays of microelectromechanical mirrors to adaptively redirect the fields of view of multiple low-resolution subimagers, is described. An information theory-based algorithm adapts the system and restores the image. The modulation transfer function (MTF) effects of utilizing micromirror arrays to steering imaging systems are analyzed, and computational methods for combining data collected from systems with differing MTFs are presented.

ACTIVE-EYES: an adaptive pixel-by-pixel image-segmentation sensor architecture for high-dynamic-range hyperspectral imaging

The ACTIVE-EYES (adaptive control for thermal imagers via electro-optic elements to yield an enhanced sensor) architecture, an adaptive image-segmentation and processing architecture, based on digital micromirror (DMD) array technology, is described. The concept provides efficient front-end processing of multispectral image data by adaptively segmenting and routing portions of the scene data concurrently to an imager and a spectrometer. The goal is to provide a large reduction in the amount of data required to be sensed in a multispectral imager by means of preprocessing the data to extract the most useful spatial and spectral information during detection. The DMD array provides the flexibility to perform a wide range of spatial and spectral analyses on the scene data. The spatial and spectral processing for different portions of the input scene can be tailored in real time to achieve a variety of preprocessing functions. Since the detected intensity of individual pixels may be controlled, the spatial image can be analyzed with gain varied on a pixel-by-pixel basis to enhance dynamic range. Coarse or fine spectral resolution can be achieved in the spectrometer by use of dynamically controllable or addressable dispersion elements. An experimental prototype, which demonstrated the segmentation between an imager and a grating spectrometer, was demonstrated and shown to achieve programmable pixelated intensity control. An information theoretic analysis of the dynamic-range control aspect was conducted to predict the performance enhancements that might be achieved with this architecture. The results indicate that, with a properly configured algorithm, the concept achieves the greatest relative information recovery from a detected image when the scene is made up of a relatively large area of moderate-dynamic-range pixels and a relatively smaller area of strong pixels that would tend to saturate a conventional sensor.

Integrated photonic coupler based on frustrated total internal reflection.

An optical coupler for integrated photonic circuits is presented and analyzed. The coupler is based on frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) and offers high efficiency in a compact footprint. Analytic expressions for the transmission and reflection coefficients of the coupler are obtained using a plane-wave theory and experimentally verified. Finite-difference time-domain modeling of FTIR is discussed and modeling results of the coupler are presented. A parametric discussion of the FTIR coupler provides design tools for making 3 dB couplers.

Frequency analysis of the wavefront-coding odd-symmetric quadratic phase mask

A mathematical analysis of the frequency response of the wavefront-coding odd-symmetric quadratic phase mask is presented. An exact solution for the optical transfer function of a wavefront-coding imager using this type of mask is derived from first principles, whose result applies over all misfocus values. The misfocus-dependent spatial filtering property of this imager is described. The available spatial frequency bandwidth for a given misfocus condition is quantified. A special imaging condition that yields an increased dynamic range is identified.

Resolution improvement for compound eye images through lens diversity

Reconstruction of high resolution images from multiple low resolution images at various displacements is a well studied, ill posed problem. Designs using lenses with different imaging characteristics improve the theoretical results and also reduce the image reconstruction problem to a set of loosely coupled smaller reconstructions. The paper derives the performance limits for reconstruction from multiple lower resolution images as a function of measurement bit precision and measurement noise.

Active optical lattice filters

Highly integrated, novel architectures for optical filtering can leverage structure, gain and variable delays to provide a multi-use photonic platform. Hardware and software results are presented.