2009 Volume 33 Issue 6_2 Pages 525-527
Spatial light modulator (SLM) is a real-time programmable device for modifying amplitude, phase or polarization of optical wave front by electrically controlled signals. Various types of SLMs with pixel arrays, such as a liquid crystal SLM, have been developed. Recently, SLMs have received much attention as a light modulator in holographic data storage which requires high speed SLMs for ensuring the high data transfer rate. In this field, the application of a magneto-optic SLM (MOSLM) is highly expected because of extremely fast pixel switching speed. The conventional MOSLM used a single crystal garnet with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy to switch as a binary depending on up and down magnetization. However, for an analog modulation in our concept, the direction of magnetization is gradually changed to in-plane direction, because the modulation is depending on the magnetization direction of the garnet film. A voltage driven MOSLM for analog modulation is developed using magnetostriction effect. Moreover, the MOSLM with a structure of a magnetophotonic crystal (MPC) is fabricated for the large enhancement of magneto-optical response. This report is about a current development of MOSLMs with magnetophonic crystal driven by a voltage.
