Abstract

The use of SLMs to display Fresnel lenses has been demonstrated in various papers.^1-3 It has been shown that dynamic diffractive optical elements can be implemented with various types of light modulators. In this study, we investigate the nematic liquid crystal based spatial light modulators that can provide full range phase modulation. Even though the modulation speed is relatively slow compared with that of other SLMs, the high resolution, high space-band-width product, electrical address, and full range phase modulation property of a nematic liquid crystal SLM make it very attractive. We have performed some basic analysis on the quality and efficiency of these dynamic elements. The chromatic aberration of a hybrid refractive lens / dynamic diffractive lens combination is comparable to that of a low dispersive refractive lens. The phase assignment of the dynamic element is also computed with several optimum algorithms, and their performance and efficiency are discussed.

© 1992 Optical Society of America