Nanoceramic Sensors for Fluorine

Optical signal and image processing applications are being impeded by the lack of adequate spatial light modulators. The goal of this Phase II program is tofabricate, test and deliver a low-cost, high-speed spatial light modulator that offers independent amplitude and phase (A&P) control, which can used in a wide variety of defense and commercial systems. Specifically, the device will offer either bipolar (relative phases of all output states are either 0 or pi radians) or gray-scale phase and gray-scale amplitude modulation. Ourmodulator design, whose feasibility was established in the Phase I program,is based on a sandwich of a transparent silicon VLSI active-matrix addresseddeformed helix liquid crystal amplitude modulator and a reflectivemicroelectromechanical (MEMS) optical phase-only modulator. Devicecharacterization involves testing to establish the spatial resolution, contrast ratio, phase dynamic range, and pixel crosstalk (both electrical and optical). The anticipated outcome of this Phase II program is a 128x128 pixel A&P bipolar modulator with 72-micron pixels, a 4 kHz frame rate, an 80% fill factor, and PCinterface circuitry. This device will be delivered to the Army.