PSEUDORANDOM ENCODING OF COMPLEX-VALUED FUNCTIONS ONTO AMPLITUDE-COUPLED PHASE MODULATORS

Pseudorandom encoding is a method of statistically approximating desir ed complex values with those values that are achievable with a given s patial light modulator. Originally developed for phase-only modulators , pseudorandom encoding is extended to modulators for which amplitude is a function of phase. This is accomplished by transforming the phase statistics to compensate for the amplitude coupling. Example encoding formulas are derived, evaluated, and compared with a noncompensating pseudorandom-encoding algorithm. Compensating algorithms encode a smal ler area of the complex plane and can produce more noise than is possi ble far arbitrary pseudorandom algorithms. However, the encoding formu las have greatly simplified numerical implementations. (C) 1998 Optica l Society of America.