Fast generation of arbitrary optical focus array

We report a novel method to generate arbitrary optical focus arrays (OFAs). Our approach rapidly produces computer-generated holograms (CGHs) to precisely control the positions and the intensities of the foci. This is achieved by replacing the fast Fourier transform (FFT) operation in the conventional iterative Fourier-transform algorithm (IFTA) with a linear algebra one, identifying/removing zero elements from the matrices, and employ-ing a generalized weighting strategy. On the premise of accelerating the calculation speed by > 70 times, we demonstrate OFA with 99% intensity precision in the experiment. Our method proves effective and is applicable to systems in which real-time OFA generation is essential.

Automated summary

We propose a novel method for generating arbitrary optical focus arrays (OFAs), which uses computer-generated holograms (CGHs) to control the positions and intensities of the foci. By replacing the fast Fourier transform (FFT) operation in the conventional iterative Fourier-transform algorithm (IFTA) with a linear algebra one, removing zero elements from matrices, and employing a generalized weighting strategy, we achieve >70 times faster calculation speed and demonstrate OFAs with 99% intensity precision in the experiment. Our method is effective for real-time OFA generation in essential systems.