The GAEA-2 Spatial Light Modulator is the highest resolution SLM on the market with extremely small pixel pitch.
The GAEA-2 phase only Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) consists of a driver unit with standard digital video interface (HDMI) and a phase only LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) microdisplay with 10 megapixel (4K) resolution (max 4160 x 2464 pixel) and 3.74 µm pixel pitch leading to an active area diagonal of 0.7”.
The GAEA-2 SLM is a plug & play phase modulator device and can be addressed with phase functions via standard graphics cards as an extended monitor device. 8 bit gray level patterns (= 8 bit phase levels) can be addressed. The used graphics card must support HDMI-2 and be able to provide an uncompressed output of at least 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution. Addressing can easily be done using the supplied Pattern Generator software or the SLM Slideshow Player software or standard image viewer software. HOLOEYE also provides an SLM Display Software Development Kit (SDK) which provides APIs (Application Programming Interface) for different programming languages.
The very small pixel size of the GAEA-2 SLM display enables high diffraction angles
| Wavelength | Period | Angle | Period | Angle | Period | Angle |
| 1550 nm | 2 Pixel | 11.96° | 4 Pixel | 5.95° | 8 Pixel | 2.97° |
| 633 nm | 2 Pixel | 4.85° | 4 Pixel | 2.43° | 8 Pixel | 1.21° |
| 532 nm | 2 Pixel | 4.08° | 4 Pixel | 2.04° | 8 Pixel | 1.02° |
| 450 nm | 2 Pixel | 3.45° | 4 Pixel | 1.72° | 8 Pixel | 0.86° |
GAEA-2 Phase Only Spatial Light Modulator Versions
HOLOEYE offers different versions of the GAEA phase only spatial light modulator. The different panel versions are optimized for the use at different wavelength ranges. Currently we offer a VIS version (420 – 650 nm), a NIR version (650 – 1100 nm) and a version for the telecommunication waveband around 1550 nm.
| Device | Wavelength Range | Fill Factor |
| GAEA-2-VIS-036 | 420 – 650 nm | 90 % |
| GAEA-2-NIR-069 | 650 – 1100 nm | 90 % |
| GAEA-2-TELCO-033 | 1400 – 1700 nm | 90 % |
GAEA-2-VIS-036
| Wavelength | Maximum Phase Shift | Average Reflectivity |
| 452 nm | 4.8π | 62 % |
| 532 nm | 3.6π | 62 % |
| 650 nm | 2.8π | 62 % |
Part no.HES 7010-2-VIS-036-B
| Wavelength Range: | 420 – 650 nm |
| Fill Factor: | 90 % |
| Average Reflectivity: | 62 % |
The GAEA-2-VIS-036 version can be used between 420nm and 650nm. The display is equipped with an AR coating that gives a front reflection less than 0.5% in this range. The LC cell enables at least 2π phase retardation up to 650nm.
GAEA-2-NIR-069
| Wavelength | Maximum Phase Shift | Average Reflectivity |
| 650 nm | 4.2π | 60% |
| 850 nm | 2.9π | 60% |
| 1064 nm | 2π | 62% |
Part no.HES 7010-2-NIR-069-B
| Wavelength Range: | 650 – 1100 nm |
| Fill Factor: | 90 % |
| Average Reflectivity: | 60% |
The GAEA-2-NIR-069 version can be used between 650nm and 1100nm. The display is equipped with an AR coating that gives a front reflection less than 0.5% in this range. The LC cell enables at least 2π phase retardation up to 1064nm.
GAEA-2-TELCO-033
| Wavelength | Maximum Phase Shift | Average Reflectivity |
| 1550 nm | 2.6π | 72 % |
Part no.HES 7010-2-TELCO-033-B
| Wavelength Range: | 1400 – 1700 nm |
| Fill Factor: | 90 % |
| Average Reflectivity: | 72 % |
The GAEA-2-TELCO-033 version features an AR coating which assures a front reflection of less than 0.5% between 1400 and 1700nm. The display enables 2π phase retardation up to > 1700nm.
GAEA-2 4K LCOS SLM Kit – Contents:
| GAEA Spatial Light Modulator – Scope of Supply |
| GAEA Phase SLM Driver Box |
| 4K Phase Only Display incl. Flex Cable (4094 x 2464 Pixel) |
| HDMI-Cable |
| USB-Cable |
| Power Supply (12V DC) |
| Magnetic Display Mount |
| Device Mount |
| Operating Instruction / Manual |
| USB flash drive with documentations, Configuration Manager and SLM software |
GAEA-2 LCOS-SLM – Software Features:
The GAEA 4K phase only modulator devices can simply be addressed like an external monitor using the standard HDMI interface of the graphics card. No additional software or dedicated hardware is needed to operate the SLM.
The device is delivered with a GUI (Graphical User Interface) based Configuration Manger software. The Configuration Manager can be used to change geometrical settings, brightness, contrast and the electrooptical response by applying a new gamma curve or another digital drive scheme. An USB interface is used for these advanced callibrations.
In addition a HOLOEYE SLM Pattern Generator software is provided with the SLM:
- Computation of computer generated holograms (CGH) from user defined images
- generation of SLM signals representing basic optical functions such as lenses, gratings, axicon and vortex functions
- superposition of CGH’s with basic optical functions to combine functionalities
Besides that a special SLM Slideshow Player Software comes with the device. Also an SLM Display SDK is avaialbe for download which provides APIs (Application Programming Interface) for different programming languages to show images and data/ phase arrays directly on a HOLOEYE Spatial Light Modulator:
- C or C++ compiler (e. g. Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler)
- National Instruments LabVIEW 2011 and later
- MathWorks MATLAB R2009b and later
- Octave 7.2
- Python 2.7 and 3.x
| GAEA Software Features | ||
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SLM Configuration Manager | Geometry / Gamma Control |
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SLM Pattern Generator | Basic DOE computations; Generation of optical functions (Circular Aperture, Fresnel Zone Lens, Axicon, Single and Double Slit …); Gratings (incl. Blazed and Sinusoidal), superposition of functions (e.g. prisms, Zernike polynomials…) |
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SLM Slideshow Player | Plays slideshow of user defined precalculated functions or images |
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SLM Display SDK | APIs to show images and data/ phase arrays directly on using LabVIEW, MATLAB®, Octave or Python™ |
GAEA 4K LCOS SLM Driver Dimensions (Unit: mm):
GAEA 4K Phase LCOS SLM Display Dimensions (Unit: mm):
