Digital micromirror control electronics for visible and near-infrared spectroscopy

Digital Micromirror Devices (DMDs) are programmable arrays of up two million tiny mirrors (typically 7 to 14 microns square) that can be tilted into one of two binary states. Typically, they are used to generate video images using digital light modulation, and are most commonly found in DLP projectors, televisions, and more recently 3D printers. In astronomical applications, DMDs can be used as a programmable slit mask in a spectrograph. This paper discusses the development of a new DMD controller, one optimized for near infrared astronomy applications; one that produces static frames, and operates at a much slower data rate with much lower power dissipation, and with fewer signal leads having much longer lengths, sufficient to significantly reduce the thermal load on the DMD.