Optical implementation of a translation-invariant second-order neural network for multiple-pattern classification

A novel approach to the optical implementation of second-order neural networks that can recognize multiple patterns is reported. The systems issues, especially the accuracy required for the weighted interconnections, are discussed for numeric character (0-9) recognition. It is shown that the accuracy of the weighted interconnections has a far greater influence on the network performance during training than on classification. To lessen the problem, we introduce an adaptive learning rule, whereby the optical power is adjusted during training. Finally, numeric character recognition using an experimental system with a liquid-crystal display is demonstrated. Key words: Neural networks, second-order neural networks, optical implementation, weight quantization.