NONLINEAR IMAGE SELF-FILTERING WITH LIQUID-CRYSTAL SPATIAL LIGHT-MODULATOR

Nonlinear spatial filtering is realized due to the electro-optical eff ect in spatial light modulators (SLMs). Optical methods with nonlinear filtering are suggested for various optical applications such as opti cal inspection of photolithography masks, wavefront sensor, etc. A fas t optical response of the SLM allows optical inspection with a video ( or faster) rate. The optical system proposed is tolerant to the vibrat ions and temperature variations because of the dynamic properties of t he SLM. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.