We describe a new type of transmission mode spatial light modulator (SLM) using a photoconductive Bi12SiO20crystal and a polymer‐dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) composed of microdroplets of nematic liquid crystal of nonspherical shape randomly dispersed in polymer matrix. The SLM using light scattering in the PDLC has several advantages, such as no polarizer, high transmission of readout light, video rate operation, and ease of fabrication. The device, which consists of a 20 &mgr;m PDLC and a 0.5 mm Bi12SiO20crystal, has a limiting resolution of 30 lp/mm and a high uniformity of the readout image.