Optical data transfer by switching waves in bistable interferometers with a specified optical thickness distribution

The evolution of switching wave fronts in thin-layer bistable Fabry-Perot interferometers with a specified topology of the transverse distribution of the optical thickness of an intermediate layer is studied. The conditions of passage of switching waves through the boundary between regions with different thicknesses and of tunneling of waves through a barrier of a variable thickness and width formed by two such boundaries are determined by numerical modeling. The possibilities of the formation of planar waveguide channels, regions of retardation and acceleration of the motion of switching waves, and points of the splitting and joining of their fronts are demonstrated, as well as the possibility of creating planar structures on this basis that can perform optical logic operations.