ELECTRON-BEAM-ADDRESSED TERNARY-STATE LIQUID CRYSTAL SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR

AN ELECTRICALLY ADDRESSED SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR IS PROPOSED THAT IS CAPABLE OF IMPLEMENTING RECENTLY PROPOSED TERNARY PHASED-AMPLITUDE FILTERS FOR OPTICAL CORRELATOR SYSTEMS. BASED ON AN E-BEAM ADDRESSED LIQUID CRYSTAL FABRY-PEROT CELL, THE E-TLCM (ELECTRICALLY ADDRESSED TERNARY LIQUID CRYSTAL MODULATOR) PROVIDES THREE AMPLITUDE MODULATION STATES: -1, 0, AND +1. THE ADDITION OF A THIRD STATE,THE O STATE, IMPROVES CORRELATION PERFORMANCE IN MANY SITUATIONS BY ALLOWING ATTENUATION OF HIGH NOISE ENERGY FREQUENCIES. THE E-TLCM IS CONTROLLED FROM A PERSONAL COMPUTER AND CAN SERVE AS A FAST, PROGRAMMABLE FOURIER FILTER IN AN OPTICAL CORRELATOR. AN INNOVATIVE FEATURE OF THE DESIGN IS THE INCORPORATION OF A HIGH RESOLUTION CHARGE-TRANSFER PLATE (CTP) TO TRANSFER CHARGE FROM THE INTERIOR TO THE EXTERIOR OF AN EVACUATED ELECTRON-GUN ASSEMBLY. THE CTP IS INTEGRAL WITH THE LIQUID-CRYSTAL CELL AND SERVES AN AN ELECTRODE ARRAY FOR ESTABLISHING E-FIELD DISTRIBUTIONS ACROSS THE LIQUID CRYSTAL. PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE E-TLCM TO BE INVESTIGATED INCLUDE: SPATIAL RESOLUTION, FRAMING SPEED, CONTRAST RATIO, AND SPATIAL UNIFORMITY.