A review of liquid crystal spatial light modulators:devices and applications

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.

A high-contrast imaging coronagraph for segmented-mirror large aperture telescopes using a spatial light modulator

The primary mirrors of current and future large telescopes always employ a segmented mirror configuration.The small but non-negligible gaps between neighboring segments cause additional diffraction,which restricts the performance of high-contrast coronagraph.To solve this problem,we propose a coronagraph system based on a single liquid crystal spatial light modulator(SLM).This spatial light modulator is used for amplitude apodization,and its feasibility and potential performance are demonstrated using a laboratory setup using the stochastic parallel gradient descent(SPGD)algorithm to control the spatial light modulator,which is based on point spread function(PSF)sensing and evaluation and optimized for maximum contrast in the discovery working area as a merit function.The system delivers a contrast in the order of 10−6,and shows excellent potential to be used in current and future large aperture telescopes,both on the ground and in space.

Diffractive characteristics of the liquid crystal spatial light modulator

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.

Fast generation of controllable equal-intensity four beams based on isosceles triangle multilevel phase grating realized by liquid crystal spatial light modulator

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.

Liquid Crystal Television Spatial Light Modulator

The liquid crystal television spatial light modulator (LCTVSLM) characterized is usable in optical processing applications,e.g.,optical pattern recognition,associative memory, optical computing,correlation detection and optical data processing systems.The array performance and real-time optical correlation applications are reviewed.

Spatial Light Modulator with BSO Crystal and Its Application in Holography

The combined use of the photoelectric and electro-optic properties of BSO crystal (Bi 12 SiO 20 ) leads to realize spatial light modulation.Under some condition,BSO crystal can become birefringent depending on a local illuminance.The relationship between the distributions of an illuminance and a birefringence will be discussed.This spatial light modulator can work in real-time. The experiment shows,in order to increase the sensitivity of BSO crystal,an electric field of 6 kV/cm at an atmosphere pressure of 15×10 5 Pa should be applied to BSO crystal.With BSO we have measured 3-dimensional deformation by means of real-time holography.

High quality beam shaping by square soft-edge diaphragm combined with liquid crystal spatial light modulator

The square soft-edge diaphragm with round angle is designed by Matlab, and is sent to a liquid crystal spatial light modulator by the computer. In order to obtain precompensation for the following laser system, local diaphragm transmission can be adjusted by feedback signals of surface-channel charge-coupled device （SCCD）. This method can reduce the diffraction effect and realize no modulation, high stability, high homogeneity, and large scale laser beam. Several parameters of soft-edge diaphragms which affect the laser beam quality are studied systematically, and the optimized values are obtained. The method can avoid the serious modulation of hard edges and provide soft-edge diaphragms of different shapes in a fast and convenient way for the large scale laser beam system.

Pulse re-shaping by using a liquid crystal spatial light modulator and deflector for producing a specific waveform

A new shaping method for producing nanosecond pulses with specific shape is introduced. When a Gaussian laser pulse passes through an electro-optic deflector, it. has been scanned as a line on the focal plane according to time precedence. Through controlling the intensity of transmitted light on each pixol of the liquid crystal spatial light modulator （LCSLM）, various complicated pulses can be easily produced. Using this method, various specific shaped pulses with pulse duration varying from 750 ps to 5 ns are achieved.

Characterizing a liquid crystal spatial light modulator at oblique incidence angles using the self-interference method

The phase modulation characteristics of a reflective liquid crystal （LC） spatial light modulator （SLM） under oblique incidence are studied by using our proposed self-interference method. The experimental setup of the method is very simple and has good robustness to mechanical vibrations. By changing the gray value of the combined grayscale loaded on the LC-SLM, different sheared fringe patterns, generated by the interference between the constant phase-modulated beam and the ＋1-order diffracted beam of the blazed grating, can be obtained. The amount of phase modulation of the LC-SLM is obtained by subtracting the phase of the two side lobes in the frequency domain. By turning the turntable where the SLM is mounted, the phase modulation characteristics at different incident angles can be measured. The experimental results show that the phase modulation curves do not change significantly with the small angle. When the angle is large （i.e. larger than 10°）, the phase modulation curves become different, especially for the high gray levels. With the increase of the incident angle, the phase modulation depth is reduced. The results indicate that the incident angle plays an important role in the performance of the phase modulation of an LC-SLM.

Nonlinear Liquid Crystal Polymer and Its Applications

The transparent solid medium of a thermotropic liquid crystal polymer have a comb structure of mesogenic side chains which exhibit a nonlinear optical response of electronic origin.The main chain of the liquid crystal polymers can be selected from a number of suitable polymerized monomeric and comonomeric structures such as polyvinyl,polysiloxane,polyoxyalkylene, polyester etc.The electrooptic light modulator is provided,which have potential to using in the systems of laser modulation and deflection,and information control in optical circuitry etc.

Kerr effect and Kerr constant enhancement in vertically aligned deformed helix ferroelectric liquid crystals

In this article,we review recently achieved Kerr effect progress in novel liquid crystal（LC） material：vertically aligned deformed helix ferroelectric liquid crystal（VADHFLC）.With an increasing applied electric field,the induced inplane birefringence of LCs shows quadratic nonlinearity.The theoretical calculations and experimental details are illustrated.With an enhanced Kerr constant to 130 nm/V2,this VADHFLC cell can achieve a 2π modulation by a small efficient electric field with a fast response around 100 μs and thus can be employed in both display and photonics devices.

Simulation and optimization of spatial light modulation of twisted-nematic liquid crystal display

The approaches to obtaining desired intensity or phase modulation by twisted-nematic liquid crystal display （TN-LCD） have been extensively studied based on the knowledge of the LCD＇s internal structure parameters. Generally, the TN-LCD placed between two linear polarizers （P） produces coupled intensity and phase modulation. To obtain the commonly used phase-only modulation, quarter wave plates （QWPs） are often used in front of and/or behind the LCD. Here we present a method to optimize the optical modulation properties of the TN-LCD to obtain phase-only modulation in the configuration of P-QWP-LCD-QWP-P each with proper orientation. Our method is based on the macroscopical Jones matrix descriptions for the LCD, the QWPs, and the linear polarizers. Through Jones matrix calculations, the orientations of the polarizers and QWPs can be optimized to satisfy differently desired modulation demands. In contrast to the traditional method, which requires knowledge of the LCD＇s internal structure parameters, our method simplified the complicated theory analysis and can work in the absence of information on the LCD＇s internal structure parameters, which are usually not available for the commercial products.

计算全息综合性光电教学实验设计

基于傅里叶光学原理实现对目标光场进行精确重建,设计了从显示目标绘制,相应计算全息图生成到光学重建的综合性教学实验。具体的实验流程包含基于Visio的显示目标设计,基于MATLAB的相位型计算全息图生成算法编写和基于相位型液晶空间光调制器的目标重建光路搭建。实验设计结合了光学、数字电路和计算机软件技术,具有流程清晰、易于教学、学生参与度高和获得感强的优势,可有效增强学生对计算全息技术与光电信息技术的理论理解与实操能力。

横向剪切干涉法共路测量LCSLM的相位调制特性

提出一种测量扭曲向列液晶空间光调制器的相位调制特性的新方法——横向剪切干涉法.对经扭曲向列液晶空间光调制器调制后的待测波面进行横向剪切干涉,用CCD记录其干涉图样,并用最小能量算法计算其波面的相位分布,从而测得扭曲向列液晶空间光调制器的相位调制曲线.该方法对振动、空气扰动不敏感,对测量环境要求不高.给出了TN-LCSLM不同调制状态下相位调制幅度的三维轮廓图.

液晶调控下的亚波长金光栅反射相位

空间光调制器(Spatial Light Modulator,SLM)是实现光场调控的关键器件。本文研究了一种将亚波长金光栅嵌入硅基液晶(Liquid Crystal on Silicon,LCoS)构成的SLM(G-LCoS)器件模型的反射相位特性,该器件模型以ITO透明导电层和液晶构成G-LCoS中亚波长金光栅的非对称边界。首先运用散射矩阵原理给出了亚波长金光栅反射相位的计算表达式,其次给出了下表面液晶的有效折射率计算公式。在此基础上,利用TechWiz 3D软件模拟加电情况下金光栅下表面液晶指向矢的变化,给出金光栅下表面液晶有效折射率的变化值。将得到的有效折射率数据导入到FDTD Solutions软件,对该器件结构开展了相关的仿真实验和结果分析。综合考虑了上表面的ITO色散情况、金光栅高度变化以及不同电压下液晶有效折射率值,实现了可见光范围内多波长的近2π相位调制。本文研究的器件也为AR/VR显示系统以及全息视频显示的优化提供了一种新思路。

基于液晶空间光调制器的附面层效应模拟

为了给航空动平台激光通信的附面层效应校正系统提供验证条件,设计了一种基于液晶空间光调制器来模拟附面层效应的模拟器。首先,从几何光学的角度分析附面层效应,将其等效为负透镜。然后,利用计算机对不同飞行条件下附面层效应与等效负透镜焦距之间的关系进行数值分析仿真。之后在液晶空间光调制器上导入不同焦距透镜的相位灰度图以实现变焦透镜的功能,通过改变变焦透镜的焦距来模拟航空平台不同飞行条件下的附面层效应。最后通过实验验证模拟的准确性,在环境温度下,模拟附面层效应的液晶空间光调制器得到的光斑图像由红外相机拍摄,之后进行图像处理分析实际光斑大小,并与理论计算光斑大小比较,得出误差曲线图。研究结果显示,基于液晶空间光调制器模拟附面层效应引起散斑效应的理论光斑大小与实际光斑大小的均方根误差为0.04375,验证了所提出的方法的可行性和有效性。

贝塞尔双光子光片显微镜在活体生物成像中的应用

双光子光片显微镜具有分辨率高、光漂白低等优势,在生物学领域有着广泛的应用。但由于照明光片厚度与长度之间的取舍矛盾问题,导致轴向分辨率和成像视场无法兼顾,因此在应用中受到限制。为了解决这一问题,本文采用液晶空间光调制器将普通高斯照明光束调制为贝塞尔光束,利用贝塞尔光束的“无衍射”特性实现了大且薄的光片照明,光片长度与厚度之比达到了163。在此基础上,设计并搭建了一套贝塞尔双光子光片显微镜,在310μm的视场范围内实现了横向440 nm、轴向1.9μm的三维高分辨率成像。本文成功实现了斑马鱼胚胎的活体成像,可以做到血液细胞流速的测量和脊柱骨细胞的分割计数,验证了贝塞尔双光子光片显微镜在活体生物成像中的应用潜力。

向列相液晶器件光调制性能研究

液晶的折射率易受外加电压和温度的影响,据此可获得电场和温度可调制器件。为改善液晶器件对光的调制性能,制备了向列相液晶器件,并对其调制性能进行理论模拟和实验研究。首先研究液晶器件的透过光强和相位延迟随电压变化关系,结果显示,相同电压下,增大器件厚度,光强调制曲线的峰谷数增多,相位调制量增大,其中电压在0.8~3 V范围内,相位延迟曲线变化较明显,厚度为4、6和10μm的器件可分别获得约1.21π、1.87π和3.19πrad的相位调制量。其次对厚度为4μm的器件进行温度可调制性能的研究,结果显示,温度从20℃升至45℃时,获得的温度可调制量约为0.29πrad。改变电场或温度均能引起液晶的折射率变化,从而实现对光的调控,适当增加液晶器件厚度可获得较大的相位调制量。研究结果对液晶光调制器件的性能改善及应用具有重要参考意义。

Smart beam via electrically addressing the dye-doped and polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals

Smart beams play a vital role in modern intelligent vehicles and have recently attracted significant attention.A spatial light modulator with high optical efficiency,low cost,and compact size is crucial for designing smart beams.Here,we mix cholesteric liquid crystals with dichroic black dye and a monomer.After UV polymerization,the sample exhibits a low driving voltage of 26 V,a high transmittance of over 70%,and an On-off ratio over 280,thanks to the joint contribution of both the absorption and the scattering effect.A smart beam device is demonstrated by electrically addressing the dye-doped and polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystal with pixelated electrodes.Light patterns with arbitrary designs are projected dynamically.The switching time reaches several tens of milliseconds.This strategy brings new designs to intelligent vehicles and may also inspire applications in public information displays,advertising,and even AR/VR displays.

基于编码成像的激光能量调控方法研究

为了有效提升光电成像系统焦平面探测器在外界存在激光干扰条件下的环境适应性,同时不显著降低原成像系统成像性能,提出了一种基于编码成像的激光能量调控方法,构建了一套以液晶空间光调制器为核心器件的编码成像实验系统并对该系统的成像性能进行了测试,设计了一套基于编码成像的激光能量调控实验验证系统并开展了多参数条件下编码成像抗激光干扰实验研究。实验结果表明,基于编码成像的激光能量调控方法可在不显著降低成像质量前提下有效提升焦平面探测器的抗激光干扰性能。