System and method for pulse-width modulating a phase-only spatial light modulator

1. A method of pulse width modulating a spatial light modulator, the method comprising; determining a modulation sequence, said modulation sequence comprising a plurality of minor modulation segments, wherein:

each minor modulation segment comprises an always-on modulation segment in an always-on state,

said plurality of minor modulation segments are temporally spaced such that said always-on modulation segments are spaced at predetermined intervals, and

each minor modulation segment further comprises at least one thermometer bit; and

applying said modulation sequence to said spatial light modulator in a time order method,

wherein said always-on modulation segment of each minor modulation segment is preceded by one or more thermometer bit segments, and one thermometer bit segment is placed in an on state in each of said plurality of minor modulation segments before a second thermometer bit segment is placed in an on state in any minor modulation segment with a first thermometer bit already in an on state.

2. The modulation method of claim 1 , wherein said one or more thermometer bit segments of each minor modulation segment are activated in reverse time order with thermometer bit segments representing lower bit values activated later in the minor modulation segment and thermometer bit segments representing higher bit values activated earlier in the minor modulation segment.

3. The modulation method of claim 2 , wherein the order in which said one or more thermometer bit segments in each of said minor modulation segments form a pattern, said pattern comprising:

a first minor modulation segment in a first half of the modulation sequence;

a second minor modulation segment at a same relative temporal position in a second half of the modulation sequence;

a third minor modulation segment in said first half of the modulation sequence located temporally substantially midway between the first and second minor modulation segments;

a fourth minor modulation segment in said second half of the modulation sequence in the same relative temporal position as the third minor modulation segment; and

optionally one or more additional minor modulation segments arranged in like manner until all minor modulation segments are formed into said pattern.

4. The modulation method of claim 1 , wherein said always-on modulation segment of each minor modulation segment is followed by a lesser significant bit modulation segment.

5. The modulation method of claim 4 , wherein an on state duration of said lesser significant bit modulation is determined by a write to black terminated write pointer.

6. The modulation method of claim 1 , wherein durations of said predetermined intervals between said always-on modulation segments are substantially equal.

7. The modulation method of claim 1 , wherein durations of said predetermined intervals between said always-on modulation segments comprise a plurality of time slots.

8. The modulation method of claim 1 , wherein image input data defining a desired phase state for each pixel is mapped to a modulation sequence code identifying a modulation configuration required to achieve that desired phase state.

9. The modulation method of claim 8 , wherein said determined modulation sequence maps a numeric image code to a unique combination of thermometer segments, subthermometer segments, and lesser bit segments.

10. A method of pulse width modulating a spatial light modulator, the method comprising; determining a modulation sequence, said modulation sequence comprising at least one major or minor modulation segment, wherein:

said modulation sequence comprises time slots of thermometer bit segments or lesser significant bit segments to which thermometer bits or lesser significant bits are assigned respectively according to a predetermined temporal order, and

one or more of the time slots assigned to be occupied by thermometer bits in an off state are respectively populated by segments of subthermometer bits according to a predetermined set of rules; and

applying said modulation sequence to said spatial light modulator,

wherein said modulation sequence comprises at least two major or minor modulation segments, and said subthermometer bits are allocated such that no major or minor modulation segment receives a second subthermometer bit in an on state until all major or minor modulation segments intended to have a subthermometer bit have received a subthermometer bit in an on state.

11. The modulation method of claim 10 , wherein said thermometer bit segments are activated in reverse time order, with said thermometer bit segments representing lower bit values activated later in the modulation sequence.

12. The modulation method of claim 11 , wherein said segments of subthermometer bits are separate from thermometer bits in an on state by at least one off state segment.

13. The modulation method of claim 12 , wherein said segments of subthermometer bits precede said thermometer bits in an on state in time.

14. The modulation method of claim 10 , wherein said subthermometer bits are activated such that when a first subthermometer bit is placed in an on state and then subsequently a second subthermometer bit is placed in an on state, said first thermometer bit remains in an on state, and wherein when a third subthermometer bit is placed in an on state said first and second subthermometer bits remain in an on state, continuing until all subthermometer bits are placed in on states.

15. The modulation method of claim 10 , wherein said predetermined set of rules for placing a subthermometer bit in time slots for an off state thermometer bit comprises separating a first subthermometer bit from a first thermometer bit by at least one time slot, and then separating a second subthermometer bit from a second thermometer bit by at least one time slot.

16. The modulation method of claim 10 , wherein said subthermometer bits are distributed such that a first subthermometer bit is placed in a first half of said modulation sequence and a second subthermometer bit is placed in a second half of said modulation sequence, continuing in alternation until all subthermometer bits have been placed.