Organization of Optical Bistability 4 Conference

光学双稳性，顾名思义，涉及可以有两种稳定状态的现象。常见的例子是一种薄的半导体，它能传输几乎所有射向它的光束，或者几乎不传输；取决于入射光束的强度范围。传输在特定强度（或小范围）下由低到高切换。此外，一旦切换，它倾向于保持高（高传输），即使即将光束的强度低于上面提到的特定切换强度。它随后将切换到低传输状态，但其切换强度小于从低到高切换所述的切换强度。显然，从基础和实用的角度来看，这两种状态设备都很吸引人（对于计算机来说，低为0，高为1）。由于它们在历史上有完全根据电学原理工作的前辈，人们对它们进行了分析，考虑进行计算，等等。这些先前的分析对计算的应用提出了悲观的看法。然而，光学情况在几个方面是不同的——信号的性质，材料相互作用的方式，以及一些基本的混沌行为。正因为如此，光学双稳性领域存在着相当大的争议，并不断产生新的令人兴奋的结果和方法。这次会议将汇集世界各地的专家，对于这一迅速变化的领域来说，应该是令人兴奋和重要的。

Optical bistability, as the name implies, involves phenomena which can have two states which are stable. The common example is a thin semi- conductor which transmits nearly all of a light beam impinging upon it, or nearly none at all; depending upon the range of intensity of this impinging light beam. The transmission switches from low to high at a particular intensity (or small range). In addition, once switched, it tends to stay high (high transmission) even though the intensity of the impinent beam is brought below the particular switching intensity referred to just above. It will subsequently switch to a low transmission state but with a switching intensity less than that referred to for the switch from low to high. Obviously these two state devices are fascinating from both a fundamental viewpoint and from a practical viewpoint (the low is 0 and the high is 1 for a computer). Since they have historical predecessors which operate totally on electrical principles, they have been analyzed, considered for computation, and so on. These previous analysis present a pessimistic view for applications to computation. However, the optical situation is different in several respects - the nature of the signal, the way the material interacts, and some of the fundamental chaotic behavior. Because of this there is considerable controversy and the field of optical bistability continues to generate new and exciting results and approaches. This conference will bring together experts worldwide and should prove to be exciting and important for this rapidly changing field.