(Press-News.org)
Complex modulation of optical fields (i.e., the control of light’s amplitude and phase) is vital to the application of lasers in diverse fields, such as optical communication, three-dimensional display, biomedical imaging, and astronomy. Yet, despite dazzling progress seen by applications of complex field modulation (CFM), improvements to technical capabilities such as accuracy, speed, and versatility remain highly in demand.
Key to the overall performance of CFM technologies are spatial light modulators (SLMs): advanced devices that provide two-dimensional arrays of electronically addressable pixels whose optical properties can be independently controlled to influence a small portion of an incident light field. However, despite ongoing improvements to SLM technology, the requirements of large pixel count (> 1 megapixel) and fast refresh speed (> 1,000 frames-per-second) demanded by CFM necessarily restrict the range of optical influences possible for SLM pixels. In particular, the high-resolution and high-speed modulation provided by digital micromirror devices (DMDs) restricts the influence of its pixels to the simple “ON” or “OFF” control of light amplitude, implemented via reflection from microscopic mirrors that are electronically tilted in one of two directions.
Despite such limitations, the detailed control of both amplitude and phase is made possible when the optical influence of individual SLM pixels are combined via multi-pixel clusters called ‘superpixels’. When implemented using DMDs, binary amplitude-based superpixel CFM allows for the encoding of complex optical fields by single binary holograms, delivering practical advantages in terms of speed, resolution, device calibration, and efficient data storage. However, due to the limitations of binary modulation, the operation of DMD-based superpixel CFM results in the majority of incident light being wasted, significantly limiting the overall efficiency to below 10%.
Fortunately, advancements in SLM technology are now providing the basis to overcome these limitations. In contrast to DMD’s “tip-tilt” actuation of micromirrors, the phase light modulator (PLM), undergoing development by Texas Instruments, actuates micromirrors via “piston-mode” displacements, with each reflective pixel able to influence light phase through the selection of one of 16 positional states. Importantly, the construction of the PLM is highly similar to DMDs, allowing it to retain the advantages of high speed and pixel counts while also exhibiting immunity to pixel crosstalk, polarization independency, and high operation stability.
Unfortunately, owing to fabrication limitations, existing PLMs produce a non-uniform distribution of phase levels, reducing the information imparted by pixel control to below 4 bits in practice. More importantly, this phase-distribution characteristic could mean that device-specific calibration and compensation is required for sensitive CFM using PLMs—a situation in contrast to the pixels of DMDs that do not have intermediate states between “ON” and “OFF”.
To address the efficiency limitations of superpixel CFM implemented with DMDs while also taking advantage of the exciting capabilities delivered by the new technology of PLM devices, we have developed binary phase-engraved (BiPE) superpixel CFM. Our technique, now published in Light: Advanced Manufacturing, extends the phase-only modulation capabilities of the PLM using a unique superpixel design (Fig. 1). Owing to the fact that PLM micromirrors do not discard light via tilting, BiPE superpixels can make use of all incident light components, enabling our method to obtain an optical efficiency intrinsically higher than that possible with amplitude-based SLMs. Moreover, while the 4-bit operation of PLM micromirrors confronts a non-uniform phase response (Fig. 1e), the operation of BiPE superpixels requires only the use of binary phase states corresponding to the selective introduction of half-wavelength phase shifts, thus entirely bypassing issues of PLM nonlinearity. Surprisingly, despite this 1-bit operation of PLM pixels, we show that the combinatorics of binary phase superpixel modulation enriches BiPE superpixels with a 10-fold increase in the number of accessible complex field states as compared to binary amplitude-based superpixels.
Used with current PLM prototypes, BiPE superpixels have achieved high-accuracy spatial amplitude and phase modulation at speeds of up to 1.44 kHz (Fig. 2). We have also demonstrated BiPE-superpixel-based CFM for several applications, such as structured beam shaping, advanced image projection, and augmented reality (AR) display (Fig. 3). Our future work includes the development of pattern generation algorithms that could speed up the calculation of BiPE superpixel holograms using multi-core computing hardware such as graphics processing units. We believe this ability will empower the BiPE-superpixel approach for CFM applications demanding adaptive display and/or featuring lightweight computational resources.
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Burden of Memory Disorders and the Role of Traditional Medicine
The growing global population of elderly individuals has led to a dramatic rise in chronic diseases, including neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. These conditions, which are expected to affect over 150 million people worldwide by 2050, are marked by memory loss, impaired judgment, and cognitive decline. While pharmacological interventions exist, their limitations in accessibility, affordability, and side effect profiles have prompted the exploration of holistic approaches. This review emphasizes traditional ...
A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals a concerning decline in self-reported mental health among mothers in the United States between 2016 and 2023. Conducted by researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the study also found modest but measurable declines in self-reported physical health during the same period.
This large-scale analysis examined data from 198,417 mothers who participated in the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), a nationally representative annual survey of households with children aged 0–17. Most participating mothers were over age 30, and over half had a privately ...
About The Study: This cohort study identified symptom patterns and derived research indices that were distinct between the 2 age groups (infants/toddlers [0-2 years] vs preschool-aged children [3-5 years]) and differed from those previously identified in older ages, demonstrating the need to characterize long COVID separately across age ranges.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Rachel S. Gross, MD, MS, email rachel.gross@nyulangone.org.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.1066)
Editor’s ...
About The Study: In this study, conducted when surgical and pharmacological weight-loss interventions were nearly nonexistent, sustained midlife weight loss compared with persistent overweight was associated with a decreased risk of chronic diseases beyond type 2 diabetes and decreased all-cause mortality.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Timo E. Strandberg, MD, PhD, email timo.strandberg@helsinki.fi.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.11825)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...
About The Study: In this trial, patient-delivered lifestyle intervention (mentor interventionists plus peer support) yielded significantly better weight loss maintenance and cardiovascular risk outcomes compared with standard-of-care treatment delivered by professionals. Future research may examine the effectiveness of this novel treatment approach in community and clinical settings.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Tricia M. Leahey, PhD, email tricia.leahey@uconn.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.1345)
Editor’s ...
An inexpensive, long-approved HIV drug can improve vision in patients with a blinding complication of diabetes more effectively and a much lower cost than many existing treatments, an initial clinical trial suggests. Further, the drug is taken orally, potentially offering patients an alternative to monthly injections directly into their eyes.
The drug, lamivudine, could represent an important new option for millions of patients with diabetic macular edema (DME), a condition which causes fluid to build up in the retina of the eye. ...
Batteries are nearing their limits in terms of how much power they can store for a given weight. That’s a serious obstacle for energy innovation and the search for new ways to power airplanes, trains, and ships. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a solution that could help electrify these transportation systems.
Instead of a battery, the new concept is a kind of fuel cell — which is similar to a battery but can be quickly refueled rather than recharged. In this case, the fuel is liquid sodium metal, an inexpensive and widely available commodity. The other side of the cell is just ordinary air, which serves as ...
ALEXANDRIA, VA —The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) published the new Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG): Surgical Management of Chronic Rhinosinusitis today in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) affects 11.6% of adults and prompts 4.1 million annual ambulatory visits.
"Chronic rhinosinusitis doesn't just affect the nose—it can influence a person's general life. Patients can struggle with poor sleep, ...
Scientists have unearthed surprising details about how our bodies handle insulin – the hormone that plays a crucial role in regulating blood sugar and developing diabetes.
The discovery could lead to better treatment of type 2 diabetes and earlier diagnosis, potentially even before the disease develops.
In a new paper in the scientific journal Cell, researchers from the University of Copenhagen found that all individuals have unique and varying degrees of insulin resistance at the molecular level.
The discovery of this ‘molecular fingerprint’ for insulin sensitivity challenges the traditional binary classification ...
Spinal cord injury (SCI) significantly impacts the central nervous system, with limited effective treatments available. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a crucial role in neuronal growth, survival, and regeneration after SCI. MicroRNAs, particularly miR-124-3p, have been implicated in SCI pathophysiology. However, the relationship between miR-124-3p and BDNF in the context of SCI remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between miR-124-3p expression and BDNF levels in a rat model of spinal cord injury and to assess how the timing of injury affects this relationship.
Methods
This study included 72 male Wistar rats divided ...