Tobias Haist

Optical particle trapping with computer-generated holograms written on a liquid-crystal display.

Computer-generated holograms written on a liquid-crystal display can be used to generate dynamic light fields of arbitrary shape. This method was used to simultaneously trap polystyrene particles laterally and to displace them independently of one another.

Multi-functional optical tweezers using computer-generated holograms

Optical tweezers are capable of trapping microscopic particles by photon momentum transfer. The use of dynamic computer-generated holograms for beam shaping allows a high flexibility in terms of trap characteristics and features. We use a liquid crystal display (LCD) to display the holograms. Efficiency losses caused by the periodic electrode structure of the LCD have been clearly reduced by use of an optically addressed spatial light modulator. We realized multiple traps, which can hold and move at least seven silica spheres independently in real time. We also demonstrate the controllability of trapped particles in three dimensions without the need for mechanical elements in the setup.

Computer-generated holograms from 3D-objects written on twisted-nematic liquid crystal displays

Abstract In order to optimize computer-generated holograms (CGHs) for three-dimensional objects, an extension of the well known Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm is used. Optical reconstructions using an electrically addressed twisted-nematic liquid crystal display are presented. For arbitrary CGHs, reconstructing 3D-objects, we will discuss the problems and solutions associated with periodic replication of holograms.

Optical detection of random features for high security applications

Abstract Optical detection of random features in combination with digital signatures based on public key codes in order to recognize counterfeit objects will be discussed. Without applying expensive production techniques objects are protected against counterfeiting. Verification is done off-line by optical means without a central authority. The method is applied for protecting banknotes. Experimental results for this application are presented. The method is also applicable for identity verification of a credit- or chip-card holder.

Dynamic holography using pixelated light modulators

Dynamic holography using spatial light modulators is a very flexible technique that offers various new applications compared to static holography. We give an overview on the technical background of dynamic holography focusing on pixelated spatial light modulators and their technical restrictions, and we present a selection of the numerous applications of dynamic holography.

An Optical Solution For The Traveling Salesman Problem

We introduce an optical method based on white light interferometry in order to solve the well-known NP-complete traveling salesman problem. To our knowledge it is the first time that a method for the reduction of non-polynomial time to quadratic time has been proposed. We will show that this achievement is limited by the number of available photons for solving the problem. It will turn out that this number of photons is proportional to N(N) for a traveling salesman problem with N cities and that for large numbers of cities the method in practice therefore is limited by the signal-to-noise ratio. The proposed method is meant purely as a gedankenexperiment.

Fast digital hologram generation and adaptive force measurement in liquid-crystal-display-based holographic tweezers.

Computer-generated holograms in conjunction with spatial light modulators (SLMs) offer a way to dynamically generate holograms that are adapted to specific tasks. To use the full dynamic capability of the SLM, the hologram computation should be very fast. We present a method that uses the highly parallel architecture of a consumer graphics board to compute analytical holograms in video real time. A precice characterization of the SLM (Holoeye LC-R-2500) and the adaption of its settings to our near-infrared application is necessary to guarantee an efficient hologram reconstruction. The benefits of a fast computation of adapted holograms and the application of an efficient SLM are demonstrated by measuring the trapping forces of holographic tweezers.

Using graphics boards to compute holograms

Todays,consumer graphics boards incorporate highly integrated, parallel-working graphics processing units (GPUs) with transistor counts and performance that exceed those of CPUs. In addition to playing the latest 3D video game, you can use the graphics boards power to solve computational problems in science or engineering work. Current GPUs are programmable and flexible enough to transfer computational problems from the CPU to the GPU.Why shift computational work to the GPU? The short answer is processing power. As we demonstrate, using a standard graphics board can considerably speed up the overall performance of tasks such as computing Fourier holograms in real time.

Optimizing the diffraction efficiency of SLM-based holography with respect to the fringing field effect

The fringing field effect of liquid-crystal displays causes a crosstalk between neighboring pixels, so that a desired sharp phase edge gets blurred. This blurring effect influences the diffraction efficiency of holograms, which are displayed on the spatial light modulator (SLM). In this paper, we show two different simulation models for the SLM, one based on the measured subpixel Jones matrices of the SLM and the other based on a direction-dependent convolution model. Using these models we optimize different blazed gratings written in the SLM according to their diffraction efficiency followed by an experimental verification.

Optical inspection and characterization of microoptics using confocal microscopy

Abstract With the growing demand for microoptics in different areas the importance of the characterization increases. Methods for a fast defect detection in microlens arrays are developed. We present a technique where the confocal principle is applied for determining the variation and the absolute value of the focal length. Additionally, using a self–filtering method the deviation of the periodic structure of microlens arrays is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Point-like defects as well as aberrations have been detected. The introduced methods allow the fast, parallel characterization of microlens arrays.