Computer application of electro-optics

The first few years of existence of electro-optics as a separate field have brought to light a wealth of novel ideas and has warmed up a host of old ones as well. It turns out that at this time there are two large classes of ideas which have relatively little overlap: the first class encompasses the development of time-honored techniques into practical low-cost designs; the second class contains the more futuristic devices using laser amplification, laser logic, laser source deflection, etc. Unluckily the latter ideas have not yet reached that stage of development where they can compete with more classical designs as far as cost is concerned. Since the author has devoted a previous paper to them, it might be useful to examine all those areas where patient development has produced reasonably low-cost designs that have proved themselves in practice or are about to do so.