Filtering in consecutive fractional fourier transform domains — A method to synthesize general linear systems for more efficient digital and optical implementations

Either exact realizations or useful approximations of general linear systems may be implemented in the form of repeated filtering operations in consecutive fractional Fourier domains. These implementations are much cheaper than direct implementations of general linear systems. Thus, we may significantly decrease the optical and digital implementation costs of general linear systems with little or no decrease in performance by synthesizing them with the proposed repeated filtering method.