High-resolution spatial light modulation with distributed photorefractive devices

We present a new photorefractive multiple-quantum-well (MQW) spatial light modulator design in which the electrooptic region is made of periodic subdevices with smaller electrooptic regions. We show that the spatial resolution of the new device, which we refer to as a distributed-photorefractive device, is a factor of two higher than a comparable conventional device. Furthermore, our data indicates that the spatial resolution depends on the subdevice thickness instead of whole device thickness. We also show that by placing smaller subdevices closer toward the electrodes, where the fringing fields are high, and larger subdevices closer to the central region of the modulator, device sensitivity can be increased without considerably reducing the spatial resolution.