Patent ID: 7421212

Claim:
A system for detecting a pulse in a signal, comprising: a spatial light modulator operable to: receive a signal having a signal current; receive a light beam; and spatially modulate the light beam in response to the signal current, the signal current operable to drive the spatial light modulator to modulate the light beam, the modulated light beam having a complex amplitude proportional to the signal current; a lens operable to: receive the modulated light beam; and focus the modulated light beam, the focused modulated light beam having a complex amplitude proportional to a Fourier transform of the signal current; an optical detector array operable to: detect the focused modulated light beam; and generate a detector output in response to detecting the focused modulated light beam; and a processor operable to: detect the presence of a pulse in accordance with the detector output; and identify a portion of the signal comprising a pulse by: identifying a time interval of the portion comprising the pulse; and identifying a frequency interval of the portion comprising the pulse.