Coarse integral holographic display
A holographic display system for generating a super hologram with full parallax in different fields of view in the horizontal and vertical directions. The system includes an array of holographic display devices, e.g., spatial light modulators (SLMs), operable to provide a plurality of holographic images of a scene from differing viewpoints of the scene. Each SLM is operated concurrently to output a narrow field of view, elemental hologram. The system includes coarse integral optics combining the holographic images into a single hologram (“super hologram”) viewable in a hologram image plane a distance from the course integral optics. The coarse integral optics combine the holographic images by providing angular tiling of the holographic images, e.g., bending the axes of parallel lenses. In this manner, the field of view, in one direction, of the super hologram is based on the number of holographic display devices provided in the array in one direction.
1. A holographic display system, comprising:
an array of holographic display devices operable to provide a plurality of holographic images of a scene from differing viewpoints of the scene; and
a coarse integral optics assembly positioned between the array of holographic display devices and a viewing space for the holographic display system, the coarse integral optics assembly combining the plurality of holographic images into a single hologram viewable in a hologram image plane in the viewing space a distance apart from the course integral optics assembly, wherein the combining by the coarse integral optics assembly comprises angularly tiling the plurality of holographic images such that optical axes of the plurality of holographic images cross at the hologram image plane, whereby the single hologram has continuous horizontal and vertical parallax.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the holographic display devices each comprise a spatial light modulator operable to display one of the plurality of holographic images.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of holographic images comprises an elemental hologram with a narrow field of view.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the field of view, in one direction, of the single hologram is based on the number of holographic display devices provided in the array in the one direction.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the coarse integral optics assembly includes a lens array with one lens centered over each one of the holographic display devices, whereby a holographic image and lens pair is created that functions as a narrow field of view projector with the lenses in the lens array having parallel axes.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the coarse integral optics assembly includes a transform lens receiving the plurality of holographic images output from the lens array and combining the plurality of holographic images by bending the plurality of holographic images to cross the optical axes of the plurality of holographic image at the image plane.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the distance to the image plane is equal to about the focal length of the transform lens.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the field of view of the single hologram is asymmetric with a field of view in a horizontal direction differing from a field of view in the vertical direction.
9. A holographic display system, comprising:
an array of holographic display devices providing a plurality of holographic images of a scene from differing viewpoints; and
a coarse integral optics assembly positioned between the array of holographic display devices and a viewing space,
wherein the coarse integral optics assembly combines the plurality of holographic images into a single hologram viewable in a hologram image plane in the viewing space at a distance spaced apart from the course integral optics assembly, the distance to the image plane being equal to the focal length of the transform lens,
wherein the coarse integral optics assembly includes a lens array with one lens centered over each one of the holographic display devices, whereby a holographic image and lens pair is created that functions as a narrow field of view projector with the lenses in the lens array having parallel axes, and
wherein the coarse integral optics assembly includes a transform lens receiving the plurality of holographic images output from the lens array and combining the plurality of holographic images by bending the plurality of holographic images to cross optical axes at the image plane.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the holographic display devices each comprise a spatial light modulator operable to display one of the plurality of holographic images.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of holographic images comprises an elemental hologram with a narrow field of view.
12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the coarse integral optics assembly combines the plurality of holographic images by providing angular tiling of the plurality of holographic images.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the field of view, in one direction, of the single hologram is based on the number of holographic display devices provided in the array in the one direction.
14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the single hologram has vertical and horizontal parallax.
15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the field of view of the single hologram is asymmetric.
16. A display apparatus, comprising:
an array of display devices each operable to provide a holographic image of a scene from a differing viewpoint; and
an optics assembly combining the holographic images from the array of display devices into a single hologram at a hologram image plane located in a viewing space and spaced apart a distance from the optics assembly,
wherein each of the display devices comprises a spatial light modulator operable to display one of the holographic images,
wherein each of the holographic images comprises an elemental hologram with a narrow field of view,
wherein the optics assembly combines the holographic images into the single hologram by providing angular tiling of the holographic images involving bending axes of the holographic images to cross in the hologram image plane or to cause the holographic images to overlap in the hologram image plane,
wherein the optics assembly includes a lens array with one lens centered over each one of the holographic display devices, whereby a holographic image and lens pair is created that functions as a narrow field of view projector with the lenses in the lens array having parallel axes, and
wherein the coarse integral optics assembly includes a transform lens receiving the plurality of holographic images output from the lens array and combining the plurality of holographic images by bending the plurality of holographic images to cross in the image plane.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the field of view, in one direction, of the single hologram is based on the number of holographic display devices provided in the array in the one direction.
18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the single hologram has vertical and horizontal parallax.