Patent ID: 8125713

Claim:
A method for synthesizing a set of light beams, comprising the steps of generating electromagnetic radiation with a set of replicas of a predetermined symbol, s, positioned at respective desired positions (x s , y s ) in an object plane o(x, y) intersecting the direction of propagation of the electromagnetic radiation, and having spatial amplitudes a(x-x s , y-y s ), spatial phases φ(x-x s , y-y s ) and spatial polarisation vectors p(x-x s , y-y s ), Fourier transforming the electromagnetic radiation, phase shifting the Fourier transformed electromagnetic radiation with the phase −Φ(u, v) of S* which is the complex conjugated Fourier transform of the symbol, s, Inverse Fourier transforming the spatially modulated radiation, whereby a set of light beams are formed propagating through the inverse Fourier plane (x′, y′) at desired positions (x′ s , y′ s ), and moving a light beam by movement of the corresponding replica of the symbol, s.