OPTICAL-MODE NEURAL-NETWORK BY USE OF THE NONLINEAR RESPONSE OF A LASER-DIODE TO EXTERNAL OPTICAL FEEDBACK

We present an intelligent all-optical neural network using a single. l aser diode that is provided with controlled external feedback. The out puts of the laser neural network (LNN) are represented in the optical domain by the longitudinal cavity modes of the laser diode. The inputs to the LNN are applied by means of adjusting the external feedback of each longitudinal mode through an optical vector-matrix multiplier. S upervised training of some basic input-output mappings is demonstrated by means of a stochastic learning algorithm. The stability and reprod ucibility of the LNN setup is examined. (C) 1997 Optical Society of Am erica.