Spatial light modulator

About: Spatial light modulator is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9043 publications have been published within this topic receiving 130143 citations.

Adaptive beam steering implemented in a ferroelectric liquid-crystal spatial-light-modulator free-space, fiber-optic switch.

Abstract: Active alignment of a 1 x 8 free-space optical switch was studied experimentally. Optical signals, carried on single-mode fibers, were switched by a ferroelectric liquid-crystal-on-silicon spatial light modulator. Continuous measurement of the in-coupled power to the fibers provided feedback for the switch control. The switch automatically located and locked to the output fibers. An advantage with adaptive switches of a similar kind is relaxed geometrical tolerances in the switch assembly. Further, such switches can adapt to possible geometrical changes and light wavelength drift during operation.

Experimental demonstration of tunable refractometer based on orbital angular momentum of longitudinally structured light.

Abstract: The index of refraction plays a decisive role in the design and classification of optical materials and devices; therefore, its proper and accurate determination is essential. In most refractive index (RI) sensing schemes, however, there is a trade-off between providing high-resolution measurements and covering a wide range of RIs. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel mechanism for sensing the index of refraction of a medium by utilizing the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of structured light. Using a superposition of co-propagating monochromatic higher-order Bessel beams with equally spaced longitudinal wavenumbers, in a comb-like setting, we generate non-diffracting rotating light structures in which the orientation of the beam’s intensity profile is sensitive to the RI of the medium (here, a fluid). In principle, the sensitivity of this scheme can exceed ~2700°/RI unit (RIU) with a resolution of ~ $$10^{ - 5}$$ RIU. Furthermore, we show how the unbounded degrees of freedom associated with OAM can be deployed to offer a wide dynamic range by generating structured light that evolves into different patterns based on the change in RI. The rotating light structures are generated by a programmable spatial light modulator. This provides dynamic control over the sensitivity, which can be tuned to perform coarse or fine measurements of the RI in real time. This, in turn, allows high sensitivity and resolution to be achieved simultaneously over a very wide dynamic range, which is a typical trade-off in all RI sensing schemes. We thus envision that this method will open new directions in refractometry and remote sensing. A technique that generates rotating laser patterns in the shape of flower petals may open up new opportunities in the field of remote sensing. Ahmed Dorrah from the University of Toronto in Canada and colleagues have developed a tunable, high-resolution laser-based device for refractive index sensors. The researchers superimposed Bessel beams to create new light structures with variable petal-like intensity profiles. Because these beams are created by modulating a source’s orbital angular momentum, they possess helical-shaped wavefronts and intensity profiles that rotate along the optical path. The degree of rotation in these petal-like intensity patterns depends on the medium of propagation. Accordingly, the resulting light structures could be reconfigured on-demand to detect refractive index changes between materials such as air, water, and oil with high resolution and wide dynamic sensing range, much larger than conventional optics.

Viewing-zone scanning holographic display using a MEMS spatial light modulator.

Abstract: Horizontally scanning holography using a spatial light modulator based on microelectromechanical system, which we previously proposed for enlarging both the screen size and the viewing zone, utilized a screen scanning system with elementary holograms being scanned horizontally on the screen. In this study, to enlarge the screen size and the viewing zone, we propose a viewing-zone scanning system with enlarged hologram screen and horizontally scanned reduced viewing zone. The reduced viewing zone is localized using converging light emitted from the screen, and the entire screen can be viewed from the localized viewing zone. An experimental system was constructed, and we demonstrated the generation of reconstructed images with a screen size of 2.0 in, a viewing zone width of 437 mm at a distance of 600 mm from the screen, and a frame rate of 60 Hz.

Method for high resolution printing

Abstract: Higher quality printing is difficult in implementation in spatial light modulator printers. The two major problems are accomplishing gray scale within the line time constraints, and eliminating staircasing artifacts within the images printed (81). It can be improved by using an alternate way of resetting cells on the spatial light modulator when data is being loaded onto the cells, timing delay (86), horizontal offset (84), and differently sized pixels (80, 82).

Generation of laser-induced cavitation bubbles with a digital hologram

Abstract: We demonstrate a method using a spatial light modulator (SLM) to generate arbitrary 2-D spatial configurations of laser induced cavitation bubbles. The SLM acts as a phase hologram that controls the light distribution in the focal plane of a microscope objective. We generate cavitation bubbles over an area of 380x380 μm2 with a 20x microscope objective through absorption of the pulsed laser light in a liquid ink solution. We demonstrate the ability to accurately position up to 34 micrometer sized bubbles using laser energies of 56 μJ.