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What is LCOS-SLM?
Phase and wavefront of light
The phase indicates the position of a point in time within one cycle of a phenomenon having repeated periodic motion.
When applying this to light that behaves as a wave, the phase represents the position of a point between alternately repeating peaks and valleys.
The phase is expressed as a value between 0 and 2π. If the phase at a certain timing in a cycle is 0, the phase at the timing after one cycle is 2π. In this case, the state of a wave within the cycle is the same as when the phase is 0. For example, if the phase at the crest of a wave is 0, then the point with a phase of 2π is the crest of the next wave.
Light waves do not oscillate on only one-dimensional axis, but travel while broadening in three dimensions, so a plane is formed by connecting points that are in the same timing state (in the same phase) within a cycle. This plane is the wavefront and can be controlled by freely changing the phase.
The shape of the wavefront depends on the properties of the light source. In the case of a point light source, the light broadens in a spherical pattern and the wavefront of the light also becomes spherical (spherical wave). In the case of laser light on the other hand, the light phases are aligned, so a plane wavefront (plane wave) is formed when linked to the same position (phase) of each wave.
The shape of such wavefronts is changed by the interaction of light with materials on its way to propagation. For example, if there is a transparent object such as glass or an optical element such as a lens or prism on the path that the light waves travel, the speed of the light decreases according to the refractive index of the object, which slows the progress of the wavefront in that area and changes the wavefront shape. In optical design, most optical elements are generally designed to shift the direction of light rays. Since light rays are defined as a line perpendicular to the wavefront, various functions of optical elements can also be explained as changes in the wavefront shape. In other words, various functions of optical elements can be obtained by freely controlling the wavefront with an LCOS-SLM.
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