Photo-Addressed Liquid Crystal SLM with Twisted Nematic ECB (TN-ECB) Mode ( OPTICAL COMPUTING 1)

A novel photo-addressed LC-SLM featuring TN-ECB (twisted nematic electrically controlled birefringence) is presented. The LC-SLM consists of an a-Si photoconductor, a dielectric mirror and a TN-ECB liquid crystal layer. TN-ECB is a kind of ECB mode which has been developed by simulating light propagation in a reflective twisted nematic configuration. The features of the LC-SLM are 25 lp/mm resolution, high-speed response of less than 10 ms, and a single polarizer system. The resolution limitation by the dielectric mirror is also discussed.