Patent ID: 7580559

Claim:
A method comprising: applying individual voltages having respective voltage values to a plurality of pixels in a spatial light modulator (SLM) to move at least one pixel from the plurality of pixels to a first position and a second position; reflecting a first light beam and a second light beam from the at least one moved pixel in the first and second positions, respectively; passing the first and second reflected light beams through an apodized pupil in an optical system; blocking, from only one side at a time, a zero order lobe of a pixel diffraction pattern associated with the at least one moved pixel at the apodized pupil; capturing respective first and second images from the first and second reflected light beams after the first and second reflected light beams passes through the apodized pupil; correlating the first image and the respective voltage values associated with the at least one moved pixel to generate respective result signals, wherein the correlating comprises comparing the first image to the second image; and calibrating the plurality of pixels using the respective result signals.