Paper Details

%T Using Transputers to Simulate Optoelectronic Computers
%A I. Cramb, C. Upstill
%E Stephen J. Turner
%B OUG\-12: Tools and Techniques for Transputer Applications
%X In this paper we present the results of our simulation and
   study of an optoelectronic SIMD architecture on a medium
   sized transputer array (18 processors). The particular
   optoelectronic architecture we have simulated is a Binary
   Image Algebra (BIA) Processor of considerable computational
   power \-processing data at rates well in excess of those
   currently achievable using electronic computers. Considering
   the inherent parallelism of such an architecture, along with
   the need for very large amounts of data processing in order
   to perform realistic simulation, the simulator was
   implemented in occam on a transputer array. The process
   model of computing adopted by occam is also most appropriate
   to the optoelectronic architecture which we have designed
   because of its modularity: we have been able to design
   process structures which have the same topology as the
   processing modules in our architecture. In the
   optoelectronic architecture, data are transmitted to a set
   of processing modules, one of which is chosen to perform a
   particular operation; the data pass through that module and
   are are transformed as they do so; in our simulator the
   processing takes place in a very similar way: data are
   transmitted from the controller to the farm; a particular
   process/module of code is called, and the data are passed
   through it, using occam channels, and are processed as they
   do so.We begin with a description of BIA itself. The core of
   the paper is a description of the logical architecture we
   have adopted; we include an account of a method for reducing
   the limiting effect of the transputer link bandwidth on the
   performance of farming computationally undemanding tasks.
   The paper is concluded with a brief description of our
   design for an optoelectronic SIMD architecture.

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