Neural network architecture based on nonlinear interaction of ultrashort optical pulses with matter

Properties of nonlinear optic effect (photon echo or time-domain four wave mixing) are suggested for implementation of neural network (NN) architecture especially for high-order NN. The different optical schemes of the second order NN are proposed on this basis. Optical architectures based on photon-echo effect and advantages of the present approach are discussed. The importance of an additional time coordinate inherent in photon-echo effect is shown. The associative memory system based on this nonlinear effect uses a temporal selectivity instead of a spatial one. The dynamics of such NN is governed by the whole prehistory of the system, which provides means for an analysis of time sequences of images of any order of complexity.