Applied Nanophotonics, Liquid Crystals and Biomedical Optics

The fabrication and performance of an optically addressed spatial light modulator (OASLM) based on nematic liquid crystal and nanodimensional amorphous arsenic trisulfide (a-As2S3) chalcogenide glassy films are described. The photoconductive a-As2S3 layers are used both as photoalignment material and as a photosensor. The use of the OASLM as a color converter is demonstrated in the transmission mode. The phase retardation dynamic range is over 3p. Diffraction efficiency measurements show a high resolution (150 lp/mm at 50% MTF). A wide variety of materials from the chalcogenide glass (ChG) family are useful for simple fabrication of high-resolution OASLMs depending on the desired wavelength.