Phase response optimization of a liquid crystal spatial light modulator with partially coherent light

This paper demonstrates a method to determine and calibrate the modulation characteristics of a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (SLM) for on-axis phase response with partially coherent light. A polarimetric approach has been implemented to obtain the phase characterization curve of the SLM. The corrections for phase response errors exhibited by SLM have been incorporated through encoded grayscale patterns to ensure a spatially uniform phase response and a linear relationship between addressed phase and phase delay by SLM. In this approach, corrections can be applied at selective pixels of the SLM's display without altering its gamma curve. Experimental results are presented that verify the feasibility of the proposed approach.