Spatial light modulators,as dynamic flat-panel optical devices,have witnessed rapid development over the past two decades,concomitant with the advancements in micro-and opto-electronic integration technology.In partic...Spatial light modulators,as dynamic flat-panel optical devices,have witnessed rapid development over the past two decades,concomitant with the advancements in micro-and opto-electronic integration technology.In particular,liquid-crystal spatial light modulator(LC-SLM)technologies have been regarded as versatile tools for generating arbitrary optical fields and tailoring all degrees of freedom beyond just phase and amplitude.These devices have gained significant interest in the nascent field of structured light in space and time,facilitated by their ease of use and real-time light manipulation,fueling both fundamental research and practical applications.Here we provide an overview of the key working principles of LC-SLMs and review the significant progress made to date in their deployment for various applications,covering topics as diverse as beam shaping and steering,holography,optical trapping and tweezers,measurement,wavefront coding,optical vortex,and quantum optics.Finally,we conclude with an outlook on the potential opportunities and technical challenges in this rapidly developing field.展开更多
Liquid crystal spatial light modulator （LCSLM） realizing equal-intensity multiple beams often has some features, i.e., phase valley between two adjacent pixels, flybaek region when phase decreases immediately from 2...Liquid crystal spatial light modulator （LCSLM） realizing equal-intensity multiple beams often has some features, i.e., phase valley between two adjacent pixels, flybaek region when phase decreases immediately from 2~r to 0, and inevitable backplane curvature, which are different from those of most conventional diffractive optical elements （DOEs）, such as static DOEs. For optimal intensity uniformity, equal-intensity multi-beam generation must be considered for these artifacts. We present a tunable-grating method in which the intensity uniformity can be improved by considering the LCSLM artifacts. For instance, tuning phase modulation depth of the grating, called isosceles triangle multilevel phase grating （ITMPG）, can be used not only to improve the intensity uniformity, but also to fast steer four beams with narrow beamwidths, determined by the same effective aperture of ITMPG. Improved intensity uniformity and high relative diffraction efficiency are demonstrated through experiments with phase-only LCSLM.展开更多
The liquid crystal spatial light modulator （LC SLM） is very suitable for wavefront correction and optical testing and can produce a wavefront with large phase change and high accuracy. The LC SLM is composed of thou...The liquid crystal spatial light modulator （LC SLM） is very suitable for wavefront correction and optical testing and can produce a wavefront with large phase change and high accuracy. The LC SLM is composed of thousands of pixels and the pixel size and shape have effects on the diffractive characteristics of the LC SLM. This paper investigates the pixel effect on the phase of the wavefront with the scalar diffractive theory. The results show that the maximum optical path difference modulation is 41μm to produce the paraboloid wavefront with the peak to valley accuracy better than λ/10. Effects of the mismatch between the pixel and the period, and black matrix on the diffraction efficiency of the LC SLM are also analysed with the Fresnel phase lens model. The ability of the LC SLM is discussed for optical testing and wavefront correction based on the calculated results. It shows that the LC SLM can be used as a wavefront corrector and a compensator.展开更多
基金supports from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.62235009).
文摘Spatial light modulators,as dynamic flat-panel optical devices,have witnessed rapid development over the past two decades,concomitant with the advancements in micro-and opto-electronic integration technology.In particular,liquid-crystal spatial light modulator(LC-SLM)technologies have been regarded as versatile tools for generating arbitrary optical fields and tailoring all degrees of freedom beyond just phase and amplitude.These devices have gained significant interest in the nascent field of structured light in space and time,facilitated by their ease of use and real-time light manipulation,fueling both fundamental research and practical applications.Here we provide an overview of the key working principles of LC-SLMs and review the significant progress made to date in their deployment for various applications,covering topics as diverse as beam shaping and steering,holography,optical trapping and tweezers,measurement,wavefront coding,optical vortex,and quantum optics.Finally,we conclude with an outlook on the potential opportunities and technical challenges in this rapidly developing field.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 60878048)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 20080440898)
文摘Liquid crystal spatial light modulator （LCSLM） realizing equal-intensity multiple beams often has some features, i.e., phase valley between two adjacent pixels, flybaek region when phase decreases immediately from 2~r to 0, and inevitable backplane curvature, which are different from those of most conventional diffractive optical elements （DOEs）, such as static DOEs. For optimal intensity uniformity, equal-intensity multi-beam generation must be considered for these artifacts. We present a tunable-grating method in which the intensity uniformity can be improved by considering the LCSLM artifacts. For instance, tuning phase modulation depth of the grating, called isosceles triangle multilevel phase grating （ITMPG）, can be used not only to improve the intensity uniformity, but also to fast steer four beams with narrow beamwidths, determined by the same effective aperture of ITMPG. Improved intensity uniformity and high relative diffraction efficiency are demonstrated through experiments with phase-only LCSLM.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Nos 60578035, 50473040） and the Science Foundation of Jilin Province （Nos 20050520, 20050321-2）.
文摘The liquid crystal spatial light modulator （LC SLM） is very suitable for wavefront correction and optical testing and can produce a wavefront with large phase change and high accuracy. The LC SLM is composed of thousands of pixels and the pixel size and shape have effects on the diffractive characteristics of the LC SLM. This paper investigates the pixel effect on the phase of the wavefront with the scalar diffractive theory. The results show that the maximum optical path difference modulation is 41μm to produce the paraboloid wavefront with the peak to valley accuracy better than λ/10. Effects of the mismatch between the pixel and the period, and black matrix on the diffraction efficiency of the LC SLM are also analysed with the Fresnel phase lens model. The ability of the LC SLM is discussed for optical testing and wavefront correction based on the calculated results. It shows that the LC SLM can be used as a wavefront corrector and a compensator.
