Phase-only modulation with two vertical aligned liquid crystal devices

Journal:
Optics Express
Year:
2020
Authors:
Augusto Arias; Alba M. Paniagua-Diaz; Pedro M. Prieto; Javier Roca; Pablo Artal
PDF:

Spatial Light Modulators (SLMs) are widely used in several fields of optics such as adaptive optics. SLMs based on Liquid Crystal (LC) devices allow a dynamic and easy representation of two-dimensional phase maps. A drawback of these devices is their elevated cost, preventing a massive use of the technology.

We present a more affordable approach based on the serial arrangement of vertical aligned LC devices, with characteristics of phase modulation similar to a widely used parallel aligned LC device. We discuss the peculiarities of the approach, the performance and some potential areas of applications.