Prism elements having TIR surfaces placed in close proximity to the active area of a SLM device to separate unwanted off-state and/or flat-state light from the projection ON-light bundle. The TIR critical angle of these prisms is selected to affect either the off-state light or additionally, any portion of flat-state light reflected from the SLM. These TIR surfaces limit the contamination of light along the projection path, which tends to degrade the system contrast. To further improve the optical performance of the system, these TIR prisms can be attached directly to the SLM package, completely eliminating the package window.