Harness the power of light.SM
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Components

Where quality meets precision.

Modules

Explore our GLV modules, available in 1088 and 8192-channel configurations, designed for amplitude or phase modulation across UV, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths.

Modules

Controllers

SLM provides controller cards for evaluation and production.

Controllers

Solutions

Ready-to-implement solutions provide access to our latest technologies.

Development Kits

A development kit consists of the GLV® module, controller board, firmware, interface cables and operating manual.

Dev Kits

Integrated Solutions

A high-throughput laser micro-machining platform using a programmable multi-spot line beam achieves over 30x the throughput of single-spot systems.

Solutions

Technology

Grating Light Valve (GLV®)

GLV® is a high-performance MEMS device used to modulate or deflect light through diffraction.

GLV®

Planar Light Valve (PLV)

PLV is a 2D version of the GLV® spatial light modulator with a larger illuminated area and more power per pixel.

PLV™

Displacement Phase Modulator (DPM)

Non-contact ribbon or piston optical phase modulators steer and shape laser beams for a wide range of applications.

DPM™

Company

Silicon Light Machines designs and manufactures robust MEMS solutions for industry in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Who is Silicon Light Machines?

Our company's name reflects its Grating Light Valve (GLV®) core: Silicon for materials, Light for optics, and Machines for mechanics.

About SLM

SLM Milestones

Silicon Light Machines (“SLM”) began in 1994 as Echelle Inc. with the goal of commercializing the GLV® for high-resolution display.

SLM History

Grating Light Valve (GLV®)

High Performance in One Dimension

The Grating Light Valve (GLV®) is a high-performance spatial light modulator comprising a linear array of thousands of micro-ribbons anchored on the surface of a silicon chip.

By electronically controlling the deflection of the ribbons, the GLV® functions as a programmable diffraction grating, enabling attenuation, modulation and switching of laser light with unparalleled resolution, speed and power-handling.

Principle

Grayscale amplitude from phase modulation

The GLV® creates images by exploiting the wave-nature of light. Shaped laser light illuminates the center of the ribbon array. Light reflected from movable active ribbons interferes coherently with light reflected from adjacent identical static reference ribbons. If the active and static mirrors are co-planar, the phase difference between reflected waves is zero (φ=0), and light is reflected like an ordinary mirror. However, if the active ribbons are electronically displaced by quarter-wave relative to the static ribbons, the reflected waves are anti-phase (φ=π), and the specular beam is extinguished as light is scattered into fixed diffraction angles.

A key advantage of the Grating Light Valve (GLV®) is its inherent analog grayscale. For intermediate phase relationships between the static and active mirrors (i.e. 0<φ<π) the light distribution between reflected and diffracted beams varies continuously. Thus by carefully controlling the active mirror displacement, true analog grayscale is achieved. Other spatial light modulators rely on pulse-width-modulation for grayscale. However, this comes at great cost to modulation rate. The “built-in” grayscale of the Grating Light Valve (GLV®) allows deep intensity resolution with zero speed penalty.

DumpedInputOutputDumped+10-1λ/4

The Grating Light Valve (GLV®) acts as a variable phase diffraction grating.

Advantages

Painting with Light

High Power Handling

The robust materials comprising the GLV® endows it with unparalleled power handling capability. GLV®s have been used for years in harsh industrial applications with incident powers of 80W per device at power densities as high as 10kW/cm2.

Non-contact, High Reliability

Unlike other MEMS spatial light modulators, the PLV is a non-contact device and requires no lubricants inside the package. This attribute is particularly valuable in high-fluence UV applications.

High Speed

Due to the low mass, high tension and short stroke, GLV® micro-ribbons can switch in less than 300ns. This is 10x faster than MEMS tilt mirrors and 1000x faster than liquid crystal spatial light modulators. Our GLV® modules support refresh rates between 250 to 500 kHz.

GLV® Intensity-Voltage Response

GLV® Pulse Response
(4μs duration)

Borderless Pixels

Unlike other MEMS spatial light modulators, both the ribbon and piston phase modulator are non-contact devices and require no lubricants inside the package. This attribute has proven to be a significant form of reliability, especially in high-fluence UV applications.

Variations

The Right Light Valve for Your Application

GLV® modules incorporate unique pixel designs to achieve different optical properties. The F1088 modules use a “flat” light valve design in which active and bias ribbons are structurally identical. This style of GLV® is wavelength-agnostic and delivers the highest contrast in first-order imaging. GLV® design is used in the G1088 and G8192 modules. This “true-GLV®” replaces the bias ribbons with metallized regions on a substrate. This design offers the advantage of improved efficiency and contrast in zeroth-order imaging, but has a wavelength dependent voltage-intensity response.

A = Active Ribbon    B = Bias Ribbon

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Flat Light Valve

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Grating Light Valve

Resources

Further information and application notes

8192-Channel Grating Light Valve for Ultra-Violet Direct Write Lithography

A white paper on the development of a new 8192-channel GLV® spatial light modulator designed for high-resolution ultra-violet direct imaging (UVDI) applications.

Download

Application of GLV Technology in Optical Communications

A technology brief on how Grating Light Valve (GLV®) technology is used to create breakthrough components like switches and attenuators for optical communication networks.

Download

Controlling the Grating Light Valve™ in Real-Time Applications

Technical discussion on the methods and systems for controlling GLV®, PLV, and DPM devices in applications that require real-time adjustments and feedback.

Download

Dynamic Gain Equalizer Presentation

A presentation outlining the principle of operation and benefits of using the GLV® device as a Dynamic Gain Equalizer (DGE) for managing DWDM channels in optical networks.

Download

Enabling high data-rate imaging applications with Grating Light Valve™ technology

A discussion on the design trade-offs and optimizations required to use GLV® technology in high data-rate imaging applications like lithography and high-performance displays.

Download

GLV-Based Solar Simulator

Describes a high-concentration, spectrally programmable solar simulator using a super-continuum laser and GLV® technology to accurately test multi-junction concentrator photovoltaics.

Download

Grating Light Valve and Vehicle Displays

Discusses the application of the Grating Light Valve (GLV®) technology in automotive systems, particularly for creating robust and low-cost Head-Up Displays (HUDs).

Download

Grating Light Valve Technology Brief

A promotional and technical brochure from Silicon Light Machines detailing the advantages and applications of its Grating Light Valve (GLV®) technology.

Download

Grating Light Valve™ Technology: Update and Novel Applications

An invited paper providing an overview of the GLV® device, its theory of operation, optical performance, and its various applications in digital imaging and displays.

Download