Characterization of massively parallel smart pixels systems for the example of a binary associative memory

In a theoretical study is shown that computing systems consisting of a huge number of small processing elements exploit better the potential of high dense optical interconnections than systems with large but few processors. This is demonstrated for the example of a binary associative memory that needs sparsely coded vectors to maximize the memory capacity. Furthermore this sparse coding reduces current problems concerning the power consumption in micro laser arrays. An estimation shows that both on GaAs based monolithically and on silicon based hybrid smart pixels solutions for such an associative memory offer short term reachable goals that are competitive with existing all electronic systems.