Proposal for an Optical Content Addressable Memory

A design of a content addressable memory (CAM) is proposed for arrays of optically nonlinear logic gates interconnected in free space. The basis of the design is a regular interconnection scheme implemented with simple optical components such as beam- splitters, lenses, and gratings. Optical logic devices are arranged in two-dimensional arrays so that optical signals enter and leave optical chips orthogonal to the device substrate, eliminating pinout constraints limit bandwidth through an electronic design of the CAM. The CAM architecture we propose demands high throughput that cannot be satisfied with a conventional electronic approach because connectivity is dense and bandwidth between chips must be as great as bandwidth between devices to avoid time multiplexing I/O channels.