Abstract

Optics is playing an increasingly important role in the sensing, processing, and transmission of information. The elements that shape the wavefront at various points are a key part of any optical system. In many cases, computer-generated holograms (CGH’s) offer major advantages over conventional refractive optical elements in terms of size, weight, and cost. Most importantly, CGH’s can perform complex waveshaping functions that are simply beyond the capabilities of conventional elements. Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in the application of VLSI circuit manufacturing technology to the fabrication of CGH’s. Alternatively, CGH’s can be implemented with spatial light modulators. These devices offer, the possibility of real-time reconfigurability, but are limited to CGH’s with much lower space-bandwidth products than can be written with the e-beam lithographic systems used in VLSI circuit fabrication. In contrast, our research has been directed toward bringing new computational approaches to bear on the CGH synthesis problem.

© 1989 Optical Society of America