Low power, high speed optical phase conjugation using chiral smectic optically addressed spatial light modulators

Abstract

Optical phase conjugation has many uses, including image transmission through fibers, coherent image amplification, aberration correction, pointing and tracking, and high resolution microscopy. However, its practical application has been limited by the fact that no available phase conjugating material combines fast response with high sensitivity. Using an optically addressed spatial light modulator (OASLM), which is composed of an amorphous silicon photosensor and a ferroelectric liquid crystal modulator,1 we achieved optical phase conjugation at low optical power (5 mW/cm2) and a response time (30 µs) 3 orders of magnitude faster than similar experiments reported using a nematic liquid crystal OASLM.2,3 The diffraction efficiency of our device is ~1%.