Abstract
The status and potential of a new type of device, the surface plasmon spatial light modulator (SPSLM) is reported. The attractive features of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for use in SLM's are explained and results from prototype devices reported. These are of the liquid crystal (LC) light valve configuration, using nematic LC with a silicon photodiode backplane. Demonstrated advantages include process simplification and increased response speed. These are obtained due to the thin, single surface nature of the plasmon active region, whilst high sensitivity is retained due to the resonant enhancement of the optical field in this region. The theoretical principle of the liquid crystal SPSLM is described, in terms of the propagation of plasmons on anisotropic materials. Various alignment configurations are considered to show how both nematic and smectic materials could provide high sensitivity and speed in future devices. The need for a grating coupled SPR technology is explained, and the design and fabrication of holographic gratings for SPSLM's is discussed. Finally, the present and ultimate performance limitations of these new SLM devices are assessed, and related to their potential use in optical information processors such as image correlator and neural network systems.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Published Version
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