Planar Light Valve (PLV)
The PLV is a two-dimensional equivalent of the one-dimensional GLV. It inherits all the desirable properties of the GLV (high speed, high power handling, analog gray-scale) while offering additional desired attributes. The 2D pixel arrangement enables larger pixel counts for continued throughput enhancement. It also increases the optical étendue, allowing use of non-laser (i.e. LED) illumination sources. Lastly, different embodiments of the PLV allow it to function as an amplitude or phase modulator.