Eliminating zeroth-order light of spatial light modulator with voltage optimization

TL;DR

This paper presents a voltage optimization method for spatial light modulators that significantly reduces zeroth-order light caused by pixelation, enhancing modulation efficiency in high-NA optical systems.

Contribution

The study introduces a voltage adjustment technique to eliminate zeroth-order light in SLMs, validated through experiments in fluorescence microscopy.

Findings

Zeroth-order light reduced by up to 91.3%

Modulation efficiency improved from 77.5% to 92.6%

Effective in high-NA optical applications

Abstract

The crucial zeroth-order light due to the pixelation effect of spatial light modulator (SLM) has been a serious issue in the field of light modulation, especially in applications with a high numerical aperture optical system. In this investigation, we report that by properly adjusting the high-level and low-level pixel voltages of an SLM, the zeroth-order light caused by the pixelation effect of SLM can be significantly eliminated. The method is further validated in an inverted fluorescence microscope. The experimental results show that the zeroth-order light can be inhibited up to 91.3%, accompanied by an improvement of the modulation efficiency from 77.5% to 92.6%.