Abstract
Micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS)-based phase-only spatial light modulators (PLMs) have the potential to overcome the limited speed of liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) spatial light modulators (SLMs) and operate at speeds faster than 10 kHz. This expands the practicality of PLMs to several applications, including communications, sensing, and high-speed displays. The complex structure and fabrication requirements for large, 2D MEMS arrays with vertical actuation have kept MEMS-based PLMs out of the market in favor of LCoS SLMs. Recently, Texas Instruments has adapted its existing DMD technology for fabricating MEMS-based PLMs. Here, we characterize the diffraction efficiency for one of these PLMs and examine the effect of a nonlinear distribution of addressable phase states across a range of wavelengths and illumination angles.
Highlights
Most 2D arrayed spatial light modulators (SLMs) currently available commercially are based on either liquid crystals on silicon (LCoS) or micromirror arrays
We present a model for the diffraction efficiencies of a phase-only spatial light modulators (PLMs) across the visible spectrum and examine the effect of illumination at oblique angles of incidence. We compare this model with measurement taken with the new PLM from Texas Instruments, and we look at the linearization of the phase levels for beam steering using a blazed diffraction grating implemented on the PLM device
The diffraction efficiency of a mechanical systems (MEMS)-based PLM with a nonlinear distribution of addressable phase levels was characterized for a blazed grating
Summary
Most 2D arrayed spatial light modulators (SLMs) currently available commercially are based on either liquid crystals on silicon (LCoS) or micromirror arrays. Even after years of research, commercial LCoS SLMs are still limited in their refresh speed to sub kHz due to the viscoelasticity of the liquid crystal material [1]. Micromirror devices are micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) that comprise of arrays of moveable mirrors, on the scale of microns, to modulate light. Because their speed is only limited by the resonance frequency of the micro-mirror, these MEMS are capable of refresh rates that are tens of kHz [2].
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