A wavefront generator for complex pupil function synthesis and point spread function engineering

We describe a simple method to produce an arbitrary complex optical field using a ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulator. The system is configured so as to act as a pupil plane filter in a confocal microscope. The ability to tune the complex pupil function permits the system to be used both to modify the imaging performance by effectively engineering the point spread function as well as to remove optical aberrations present in the optical system.