Characterization and applications of a pure phase reflective liquid crystal spatial light modulator

We present the characterization of a pure phase reflective liquid crystal spatial light modulator. This modulator is electrically addressed and is based on nematic liquid crystal. Its performance in terms of frame rate, phase modulation versus gray level and wavefront distortion is experimentally evaluated. It is shown that after adding phase compensation and applying an appropriate Look-Up-Table, this spatial light modulator is an excellent candidate for applications such as dynamic diffractive optical elements, wavefront generation and dynamic zoom lens.