Novel design digital holographic system with LCOS spatial light modulators for diffractive element synthesis

Abstract

This paper discusses the advantages of spatial light modulators (SLM) for the application of digital holography and dynamic pattern generation. Implementation demands are discussed on the example of designing an optical system for diffractive element synthesis based on LCOS SLM that is applicable not only for fringe pattern fabric structures but as well to allow for more complex patterns including polarization grating formation in polarization-sensitive liquid-crystalline polymers. We report a new method for the synthesis of digital holograms made by using the interference of laser beams that are diffracted on two amplitude and phase SLM's. Combining the original image-matrix technology with an interferometric image formed by two LCOS SLM's allows for obtaining new visual effects for hologram or diffractive elements synthesis. The proposed method for computer-generated holograms (CGH) enables one to synthesize CGH's and to simulate digital image processing techniques for 3D image reconstruction. The extension of the proposed technique of modeling diffraction on amplitude-phase masks and the possibilities of its practical application such as computer modeling of diffraction on a SLM, which consists of rectangular cells, for wavefront reconstruction are considered. Conclusions regarding the possibilities of the representation of the arbitrary fields by using the discrete matrix of elementary diffractive aperture cells for an enhancement of the iteration algorithm of hologram synthesis and phase retrieval are obtained. The results obtained by numerical and experimental means are presented together with a discussion of the limitations and further possibilities of this method.