a general block diagram depicting the basic segments of a single - output hybrid optical / electronic programmable invert - or - invert - or logic array equivalent to a single - output conventional and - or programmable logic array ( pla ) device is depicted in fig1 . the binary input bits are shown as n individual electrical input lines generally indicated by the numeral 1 that are connected to a combined electrical decoder and optical emitter block 2 . decoder / emitter block 2 has m individual optical output lines generally indicated by the numeral 3 . each of m optical lines 3 has a fan - out of q . the optical signals are passed through a programmable optical invert array 4 and ultimately exit as q individual optical output lines generally indicated by the numeral 5 . each of q optical lines 5 has a fan - in of m and constitutes an m input optical - in / optical - out pseudo or gate , hereafter referred to as an or gate . the q optical output lines 5 are passed through a combined optical detector and electrical invert block 6 . the combination invert - or - invert is logically equivalent to the and operation in a conventional electronic pla device . the signals from block 6 emerge as q electrical lines 7 entering an electrical or gate 8 with a single electrical output line 9 that provides the desired output function . a combined block diagram and three - dimensional view of one specific implementation of fig1 is depicted in fig2 . the two electrical inputs generally indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 1a enter a 2 : 4 electrical decoder 10 that has m = 4 electrical output lines generally indicated by the numeral 11 . each electrical output line 11 is connected to an optical emitter that may be either a semiconductor laser or a light emitting diode ( led ) that is generally indicated by the numeral 12 . the free - space optical outputs from these emitters are generally indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 3a and are fanned - out by a factor of q = 4 to one of m = 4 columns of a spatial light modulator 13 that performs an optical invert operation . this operation is effected by setting individual pixels of the spatial light modulator 13 as either transmitting or opaque according to the complement or invert of each output function described by the standard and array representation of pla and - or logic . specific examples of the optical invert process are provided later in this section . free - space optical signals generally indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 5a from each of q = 4 rows are fanned - in by a factor of m = 4 to form q = 4 multiple - input optical or gates , and each optical signal 5a is detected by one of q = 4 detectors generally indicated by the numeral 14 . each detector output is inverted electrically . the electrical invert operation is generally indicated by the numeral 15 . the resulting q = 4 electrical outputs are generally indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 7a , and these outputs are electrically or &# 39 ; d 16 to obtain the desired output function at the electrical output line 9 . the free space optical fan - out connections 3a and the free - space optical fan - in connections 5b of fig2 are generally effected through the use of anamorphic optical imaging systems in accordance with well - known state of the art practices and principles . representative examples of this technology are presented in a review paper by a . d . mcaulay entitled &# 34 ; optical crossbar interconnected digital signal processor with basic algorithms ,&# 34 ; optical engineering , 25 , pp . 82 - 90 ( january 1986 ). fig3 depicts an alternate fiber optic approach to effect the necessary optical fan - out and fan - in connections . fiber optic links from the optical emitters 12 are fanned - out to m = 4 bundles of q = 4 optical fibers , where each bundle is generally indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 3b . the optical output from each fan - out bundle 3b is optically imaged onto one of m = 4 columns of the spatial light modulator 13 . light emerging from each of q = 4 rows of the spatial light modulator is optically imaged onto a fan - in bundle of m = 4 optical fibers generally indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 5b , and each bundle is connected by fiber optic link to q = 4 detectors 14 . depending on economic considerations , the fiber optic connections need not be used on both sides of the spatial light modulator , but may be used on one side only . in this way , some optimum economic mix of anamorphic free space connections with fiber optic connections may be effected . one important aspect of the architecture just described with respect to existing electronic pla devices should now be emphasized . the hybrid optical / electronic system is actually a dynamically reprogrammable pla device in which the invert - or - invert sequence that is equivalent to the and array representation of a typical electronic pla device can be altered periodically . this is accomplished by varying the transmission characteristics of the spatial light modulator . in a typical electronic pla device as described in pal databook issued by national semiconductor corporation , santa clara , ca ( 1982 ), the and array is set with fusible links that can only be programmed once . although , more expensive pla &# 39 ; s are capable of dynamically altering their programming , the reconfiguration speed of the hybrid optical / electronic system described in this invention is potentially superior to that of electronic pla &# 39 ; s . another important aspect of the hybrid optical / electronic system described in this invention is that the fan - out and fan - in is potentially superior to that of electronic pla &# 39 ; s . in electronic technology , the fan - in and fan - out limitations restrict the capablilities of the pla devices . typical electronic pla devices as described in pal databook issued by national semiconductor corporation , santa clara , ca ( 1982 ) can handle a maximum of sixteen input variables . the hybrid optical / electronic system set forth in this invention is potentially capable of handling hundreds of input variables simultaneously . the fan - out and fan - in advantages of the hybrid optical / electronic system set forth in this invention are so substantial that another mode of operation may be envisioned in which it is possible to replace the spatial light modulator 13 described in this invention and specifically depicted in fig2 and 3 by a fixed mask with pixels that are either transmitting or opaque . in this mode of operation the hybrid optical / electronic device is essentially equivalent to a simple pla device in which the fuses are blown and the device is programmed only once . the general block diagram of fig1 depicts a hybrid optical / electronic pla system that is capable of implementing only one logic function at a time . fig4 depicts an extension of the principles set forth in this invention and generally depicted in fig1 to permit the parallel realization of more than one logic function simultaneously . in fig4 the optical inputs from m optical emitters are fanned out by a factor equal to q 1 + q 2 . the corresponding optical lines are generally indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 3c . optical lines 3c are connected to two independent optical invert blocks 4a and 4b . optical invert blocks 4a and 4b have q 1 and q 2 individual optical output lines respectively indicated by the numerals 5c and 5d . these signals are applied respectively to detector / invert blocks 6a and 6b and ultimately exit as individual electrical output lines respectively indicated by the numerals 7a and 7b . or gates 8a and 8b then connect respectively to lines 9a and 9b to provide the desired parallel outputs . in the sequence invert - or - invert - or the final or operation 8 as depicted in fig1 or the parallel or operations 8a and 8b as depicted in fig4 can be effected by a hybrid optical / electronic approach . this technique is depicted in fig5 . electrical input signals 7 are applied to a series of optical emitters generally indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 12a . the resulting optical output lines with a fan in of q are generally indicated by the numeral 17 . these lines coverge to a single detector 14a which then provides the desired electrical output . a specific example of a function to be implemented by the optical invert process is provided in fig6 . input variables w , x , y and z respectively indicated by the numerals 18 , 19 , 20 and 21 are represented in a truth table format that defines a particular output function indicated by the alphanumeric symbol 9c . using conventional notation , the same truth table with input variables 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 and output function 9c may be represented in reduced form as depicted in fig7 . the reduced table depicted in fig7 is readily converted to standard pla and - or logic representation as depicted in fig8 . here input variables 18 , 19 , 20 and 21 and the invert of these signals obtained by use of inverters generally represented by the numeral 15 are either connected or not connected to the inputs of a plurality of multiple - input and gates that are generally represented by the numeral 22 . the presence of a connection is generally represented by &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; such as is shown at the numeral 24 . outputs of the multiple - input and gates 22 are or &# 39 ; d together by a multiple - input or gate 16a to provide the desired output function 9c . the first segment of connections and and gates is generally referred to as an and array 23 . the schematic illustration of fig8 depicts a system that relies on simple one - bit decoders . the standard and - or representation of fig8 may be depicted equivalently by the invert - or - invert - or representation of fig9 . in this case input variables 18 , 19 , 20 and 21 and the invert of these signals obtained by use of inverters 15 are either connected or not connected to the inputs of a plurality of multiple - input or gates 16a that are generally represented by the numeral 16a . the output from each multiple - input or gate 16a is inverted 15 and the resulting signals are or &# 39 ; d together by a multiple - input or gate 16a to provide the desired output function 9c . as before , the presence of a connection is generally indicated by &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; such as is shown at the numeral 24 . the first segment of connections and and gates is generally referred to as an or array 25 . the equivalent system to fig8 depicted in fig9 again relies on simple one - bit decoders . the principles put forth in this invention rely on a hybrid optical / electronic logic array that implements the sequence invert - or - invert - or . for the hybrid system , the correct mapping procedure requires that a representation of the form presented in fig9 be employed as opposed to the standard form presented in fig8 . in referring to fig9 the or array 25 requires eight inputs and seven multiple - input or gates 16a . in terms of the basic crossbar architecture described in fig2 this is equivalent to stating that the fan - out factor , q , is equal to seven and the fan - in factor , m , is equal to eight . in addition , eight optical emitters are required , but only four of these are switched on at any given time . the system requires seven detectors . in pratical situations that are governed by cost / performance factors , it is often desirable to vary the hardware requirements in terms of detectors , emitters , peak switching power , fan - in , or fan - out . for the hybrid optical / electronic pla discussed in this invention , the simple one - bit decoder approach of fig9 is not necessarily the most efficient way to implement the desired output function 9c . several other possible approaches that also employ the invert - or - invert - or principle must therefore also be considered . rather than rely on simple one - bit decoders , fig1 depicts a more sophisticated two - bit decoder 26 that generates the output literals 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 . this particular two to four decoder 26 takes the input variables 18 and 20 and basically forms a multilevel combinational circuit 35 that generates the desired outputs 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 . a second two - bit decoder 36 is depicted in fig1 that takes the input variable 19 and 21 and basically forms another multilevel combinational circuit 45 in order to generate another set of output literals 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 . the combination of input variable assignment and choice of proper decoder output function can sometimes result in a considerable decrease in the number of gates or product terms required for and - or synthesis as discussed by t . sasao and h . terada in a paper entitled &# 34 ; multiple - valued logic and the design of programmable logic arrays with decoders ,&# 34 ; proceedings of the ninth international symposium on multiple - valued logic , pp . 27 - 37 , library of congress no . 79ch1408 - 4c ( 1979 ). similar savings may also be effected in the equivalent hybrid optical / electronic invert - or - invert - or implementation . a specific example of how these savings may be effected is presented in fig1 and 13 . using the two - bit decoders defined in fig1 and 11 , the reduced truth table of fig7 is first converted to standard pla and - or logic representation as depicted in fig1 . the figure includes input variables 18 , 20 , 19 , 21 , two - bit decoders 26 , 36 , not gates 15 , and gates 22 , connections 24 , or gate 16a , and output 9c . in this representation only two and gates 22 are required . fig1 depicts an equivalent invert - or - invert - or representation that includes input variables 18 , 20 , 19 , 21 , two - bit decoders 26 , 36 , not gates 15 , or gates 16a , connections 24 , and output 9c . in referring to fig1 , the first array of or gates requires sixteen inputs and two multiple - input or gates 16a . in terms of the basic crossbar architecture described in fig2 this is equivalent to stating that the fan - out factor , q , is equal to two and the fan - in factor , m , is equal to sixteen . in addition , sixteen optical emitters are required , but only eight of these are switched on at any given time . the system requires two detectors . another possible choice for a two - bit decoder 46 is depicted in fig1 . this decoder 46 takes the input variables 18 and 19 and generates the output literals 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 . fig1 depicts a second two - bit decoder 51 that takes the input variables 20 and 21 and generates the output literals 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 . with this particular choice of decoder a different mix of hardware requirements for the hybrid optical / electronic pla of this invention may be defined . the procedure is to use the two - bit decoders defined in fig1 and 15 , and convert the reduced truth table of fig7 to standard pla and - or logic representation as depicted in fig1 . the figure includes input variables 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , two - bit decoders 46 , 51 , and gates 22 , connections 24 , or gate 16a , and output 9c . in this representation ten and gates 22 are required . an equivalent invert - or - invert - or representation is depicted in fig1 that includes input variables 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , two - bit decoders 46 , 51 , not gates 15 , or gates 16a , connections 24 , and output 9c . in referring to fig1 , the first array of or gates requires eight inputs and seven multiple - input or gates 16a . in terms of the basic crossbar architecture described in fig2 this is equivalent to stating that the fan - out factor , q , is equal to seven and the fan - in factor , m , is equal to eight . in addition , eight optical emitters are required , but only two of these are switched on at any given time . the system requires seven detectors . higher order decoders such as a four to sixteen decoder may result in different hardware requirements for the hybrid optical / electronic pla described in this invention . one example of a four to sixteen decoder 72 is depicted in fig1 . this decoder 72 takes the input variables 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 and generates the output literals 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 . with this particular choice of decoder yet another mix of hardware requirements for the hybrid optical / electronic pla of this invention may be defined . the procedure is to use the four - bit decoder 72 defined in fig1 and convert the reduced truth table of fig7 to standard pla and - or logic representation as depicted in fig1 . the figure includes input variables 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , four - bit decoder 72 , and gates 22 , connections 24 , or gate 16a , and output 9c . in this representation ten and gates 22 are required . an equivalent invert - or - invert - or representation is depicted in fig2 that includes input variables 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , four - bit decoder 72 , not gate 15 , or gates 16a , connections 24 , and output 9c . in referring to fig2 , the first array of or gates 16a requires sixteen inputs and only a single multiple - input or gate 16a . in terms of the basic crossbar architecture described in fig2 this is equivalent to stating that the fan - out factor , q , is equal to one and the fan - in factor , m , is equal to sixteen . in addition , sixteen optical emitters are required , but only one of these is switched on at any given time . the system requires only one detector . based on the examples thus far presented , it is evident that various selections of decoders may be used advantageously to provide flexibility in the hardware requirements for implementing the hybrid optical / electronic pla described in this invention .