Polarization diffractive elements displayed with liquid crystal spatial light modulators

I. MORENO; CLAUDIO IEMMI; A. VARGAS; J. CAMPOS; M. YZUEL

Estrasburgo

Congreso; Spie´s symposium photonics europe; 2006

In this work we present the analysis of polarization diffractive elements, and its experimental realization with a twisted nematic liquid-crystal spatial light modulator. We analyze different spatially variant polarization diffractive elements by an extension of the scalar Fourier optics theory to a vectorial theory based on the Jones matrix formalism. Both the intensity and the local state of polarization distributions in the Fraunhoffer approximation are analyzed. We also present the extension of this formalism to study a polarization / diffractive element with rotational symmetry and we consider a binary polarization pupil filter for an optical system. We describe both the transversal plane and the axial polarization behavior. We show how the response of the optical system can be easily changed from apodizing to superresolving behavior, through the orientation of an analyzer placed behind the pupil. Finally we present the experimental realization of these polarization diffractive elements with a twisted nematic liquid crystal spatial light modulator (TN-SLM). We discuss the required polarization configuration of the display and experimentally demonstrate the polarization / diffraction properties of binary polarization diffractive elements. Experimental realization of the proposed binary polarization pupil filter is also demonstrated by placing the liquid crystal spatial light modulator at the exit pupil of an optical system.