Test and evaluation of the Soviet Prom and Priz spatial light modulators

Five Soviet bismuth silicon oxide Prom and Priz spatial light modulators were recently tested in the United States. In this program, their performance was quantified and compared with that of the U.S. Prom. The resultant laboratory data show that the Soviet Prom is comparable with the U.S. device and that the Soviet Priz has over ten times the diffraction efficiency and over ten times more usable resolution than the Prom. Theoretical models of the dependence of diffraction efficiency on spatial frequency were also verified by experiments performed on these devices.