Mosaic imaging with spatial light modulator technology

Diffractive wavefront control with spatial light modulator technology has been successfully demonstrated both as a means of steering optical wavefronts and for compensating large optical aberrations. We describe the use of a spatial light modulator operating as a programmable diffractive optic to record extended-field-of-view mosaic images centered about a large off-axis field angle. A gimbaled primary mirror allows the nominal viewing angle to be varied, and diffractive wavefront steering allows images to be acquired at discrete increments in the field angle about the nominal angle. Diffractive wavefront compensation corrects aberrations associated with the primary mirror orientation and changes in field angle introduced by diffractive wavefront steering. A time sequence of images recorded at discrete increments in the field angle is then digitally combined to create a high-pixel-count mosaic image. The effects of diffraction efficiency and wavelength-dependent wavefront errors on image quality are analyzed.