Liquid Crystal Integrated Silicon Spatial Light Modulator

Abstract

Practical optical processing systems require compact and efficient electronically addressed spatial light modulators (EASLM). This can be achieved by integrating ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC) with silicon-chip technology. The low voltage and power requirements of FLCs are consistent with large-scale silicon integration. A 12×12-mm silicon chip could support a 512×512-pixel array, with 100-µs frame time. 1,2 We have initiated a program to investigate the issues, using an active-matrix-addressed 12×12-array chip.