Real-time pattern recognition using a modified liquid crystal television in a coherent optical correlator

This article is concerned with an investigation which shows that small inexpensive liquid crystal TVs (LCTV) may be employed as spatial light modulators in some real-time optical correlation applications. It is pointed out that the LCTV used in the reported research was modified by replacing the original polarizers used on the device with external high-quality polarizers. Initial results indicate that the LCTV performs reasonably well in a standard coherent optical correlator. An optimization of the operating parameters, such as resolution, contrast, and speed, for general optical data processing needs is suggested.