Aberration correction in an adaptive free-space optical interconnect with an error diffusion algorithm

Aberration correction within a free-space optical interconnect based on a spatial light modulator for beam steering and holographic wavefront correction is presented. The wavefront sensing technique is based on an extension of a modal wavefront sensor described by Neil et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 17, 1098 (2000)], which uses a diffractive element. In this analysis such a wavefront sensor is adapted with an error diffusion algorithm that yields a low reconstruction error and fast reconfigurability. Improvement of the beam propagation quality (Strehl ratio) for different channels across the input plane is achieved. However, due to the space invariancy of the system, a trade-off among the beam propagation quality for channels is obtained. Experimental results are presented and discussed. © 2006 Optical Society of America