Angular light modulator using optical blinds

Spatial light modulator (SLM) is widely used in imaging applications for modulating light intensity and phase delay. In this paper, we report a novel device concept termed angular light modulator (ALM). Different from the SLM, the reported ALM employs a tunable blind structure to modulate the angular components of the incoming light waves. For spatial-domain light modulation, the ALM can be directly placed in front of an image sensor for selecting different angular light components. In this case, we can sweep the slat angle of the blind structure and capture multiple images corresponding to different perspectives. These images can then be back-projected for 3D tomographic refocusing. By using a fixed slat angle, we can also convert the incident-angle information into intensity variations for wavefront sensing or introduce a translational shift to the defocused object for high-speed autofocusing. For Fourier-domain light modulation, the ALM can be placed at the pupil plane of an optical system for reinforcing the light propagating trajectories. We show that a pupil-plane-modulated system is able to achieve a better resolution for out-of-focus objects while maintaining the same resolution for in-focus objects. The reported ALM can be fabricated on the chip level and controlled by an external magnetic field. It may provide new insights for developing novel imaging and vision devices.