LCOS Spatial Light Modulator for Digital Holography

Liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) spatial light modulator (SLM) is the most widely used optical engine for digital holography. This paper aims to provide an overview of the applications of phase-only LCOS in two-dimensional (2D) holography. It begins with a brief introduction to the holography theory along with its development trajectory, followed by the fundamental operating principle of phase-only LCOS SLMs. Hardware performance of LCOS SLMs (in terms of frame rate, phase linearity and flicker) and related experimental results are presented. Finally, potential improvements and applications are discussed for futuristic holographic displays. Full Text: PDF ReferencesM. Wolfke, Physikalische Zeitschrift 21, 495 (1920). DirectLink D. Gabor, "A New Microscopic Principle", Nature 161, 777 (1948). CrossRef H. Haken, "Laser Theory", Light and Matter 5, 14 (1970). CrossRef S. Benton, "Selected Papers on Three-dimensional displays", SPIE Press (2001). DirectLink X. Liang et al, "3D holographic display with optically addressed spatial light modulator", 3DTV-CON 2009 - 3rd 3DTV-Conference (2009). CrossRef J. Chen, W. Cranton, M. Fihn, "Handbook of Visual Display Technology", Springer (2012). CrossRef D. Rogers, "The chemistry of photography: From classical to digital technologies", Royal Society of Chemistry (2007). CrossRef S. Reichelt et al, "Depth cues in human visual perception and their realization in 3D displays", Proc. SPIE 7690, 76900B (2010). CrossRef A.W. Lohmann, D. Paris, "Binary Fraunhofer Holograms, Generated by Computer", Appl. Opt. 6, 1739 (1967). CrossRef J.W. Goodman, R.W. Lawrence, "Digital Image Formation from Electronically Detected Hologtrams", Appl. Phys. Lett 17, 77 (1967). CrossRef D.C. O'Brien, R.J. Mears, and W.A. Crossland, "Dynamic holographic interconnects that use ferroelectric liquid-crystal spatial light modulators", Appl. Opt. 33, 2795, (1994). CrossRef R.W. Gerchberg, and W.O. Saxton, "A practical algorithm for the determination of phase from image and diffraction plane pictures", Optik 35, 237 (1972). DirectLink M. Ernstoff, A. Leupp, M. Little, and H. Peterson, "Liquid crystal pictorial display", Proceedings of the 1973 International Electron Devices Meeting, IEEE, 548 (1973). CrossRef W.A. Crossland, P.J. Ayliffe, and P.W. Ross, "A dyed-phase-change liquid crystal display over a MOSFET switching array", Proc SID 23, 15 (1982). DirectLink M. Tang, and J. Wu, "Optical Correlation recoginition based on LCOS", Internation Symposium o