Holographically displaying three-dimensional objects
Methods, apparatus, devices, subsystems, and systems for holographically displaying three-dimensional objects are provided. A system includes a display and a controller. The display includes: a backplane having a plurality of circuits and a plurality of display elements arranged on the backplane. The plurality of display elements form an irregular pattern. Each of the plurality of display elements is coupled to a respective circuit of the plurality of circuits. The controller is coupled to the display and configured to transmit at least one control signal to at least one display element of the display for modulating at least one property of the at least one display element.
1. A device comprising:
an optical device configured to deflect target light towards a target device;
a linear polarizer configured to transmit light with a linear polarization state; and
an optical retarder configured to alter a polarization state of light passing through the optical retarder,
wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are configured to cause ambient light to pass through the linear polarizer once and the optical retarder twice sequentially to be blocked by the linear polarizer, and
wherein the optical device, the linear polarizer, and the optical retarder are configured to cause the target light to pass through the optical retarder twice and the linear polarizer once sequentially to be transmitted through the linear polarizer.
2. A system comprising:
an optical device configured to deflect target light towards a target device, wherein the target device comprises a plurality of elements forming an irregular pattern;
a linear polarizer configured to transmit light with a linear polarization state; and
an optical retarder configured to alter a polarization state of light passing through the optical retarder,
wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are configured to cause ambient light coming from a first side of the linear polarizer to pass through the linear polarizer and the optical retarder to be incident on the target device and deflected back from the target device to pass through the optical retarder to be blocked from a second side of the linear polarizer by the linear polarizer, the second side of the linear polarizer being opposite to the first side of the linear polarizer, and
wherein the optical device, the linear polarizer, and the optical retarder are configured to cause the target light to be incident on the target device and deflected back from the target device to transmit from the second side of the linear polarizer through the linear polarizer.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the optical device is configured to guide the target light along a first direction and diffract to the target device along a second direction different from the first direction, without passing through the linear polarizer from the first side of the linear polarizer.
4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are configured to cause the ambient light to pass through the linear polarizer once and the optical retarder twice sequentially, and
wherein the optical device, the linear polarizer, and the optical retarder are configured to cause the target light to pass through the optical retarder twice and the linear polarizer once sequentially.
5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are configured to cause the ambient light incident on the second side of the linear polarizer and the ambient light transmitted out from the first side of the linear polarizer with opposite polarization states.
6. The system of claim 2 , wherein the optical retarder is configured to:
alter linearly polarized light passing through the optical retarder into circular polarized light, or
alter circular polarized light passing through the optical retarder into linearly polarized light.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the optical retarder comprises a quarter-wave plate (QWP).
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the quarter-wave plate is oriented at 45° to a transmission angle of the linear polarizer.
9. The system of claim 2 , wherein the target device is configured to:
deflect the ambient light, without altering a polarization state of the ambient light, and
deflect the target light, without altering a polarization state of the target light.
10. The system of claim 2 , wherein an intensity of the target light transmitted from the linear polarizer is about a half of an intensity of the target light deflected from the target device.
11. The system of claim 2 , wherein the target device is a reflective device.
12. The system of claim 2 , wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are arranged on a first side of the optical device, and the target device is arranged on a second side of the optical device that is opposite to the first side of the optical device, and
wherein the optical retarder is between the linear polarizer and the optical device.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein,
the target light is deflected by the optical device with a first polarization state that is same as the linear polarization state of the linear polarizer,
the target light is incident on the linear polarizer from the second side of the linear polarizer with a circular polarization state, and
wherein the target light is incident on the target device with the first polarization state, and deflected back from the target device with the first polarization state.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the linear polarization state is a first linear polarization state,
the ambient light is incident on a first side of the optical retarder with the first linear polarization state, and the optical retarder converts the first linear polarization state of the ambient light into a circular polarization state,
the ambient light is deflected back from the target device with the circular polarization state to a second side of the optical retarder opposite to the first side of the optical retarder, and the optical retarder converts the circular polarization state of the ambient light to a second linear polarization state that is opposite to the first linear polarization state.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the first linear polarization state is one of S polarization state and P polarization state, and the second linear polarization state is the other one of S polarization state and P polarization state.
16. The system of claim 2 , wherein the linear polarizer is arranged on a first side of the optical device, and the target device is arranged on a second side of the optical device that is opposite to the first side of the optical device, and
wherein the optical retarder is arranged on the second side of the optical device and between the optical device and the target device.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the linear polarization state is a first linear polarization state,
the target light is deflected by the optical device with a second linear polarization state to be incident on a first side of the optical retarder, the second linear polarization state being opposite to the first linear polarization state, and the optical retarder converts the second linear polarization state of the target light into a circular polarization state,
the target light is incident on the target device with the circular polarization state, and is deflected back from the target device with the circular polarization state to a second side of the optical retarder that is opposite to the first side of the optical retarder, and the optical retarder converts the circular polarization state of the target light into the first linear polarization state, and
the target light is incident on the second side of the linear polarizer with the first linear polarization state and transmitted through the linear polarizer.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the first linear polarization state is one of S polarization state and P polarization state, and the second linear polarization state is the other one of S polarization state and P polarization state.
19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the linear polarization state is a first linear polarization state,
the ambient light is incident on a first side of the optical retarder with the first linear polarization state, and the optical retarder converts the first linear polarization state of the ambient light into a circular polarization state,
the ambient light is deflected back from the target device with the circular polarization state to the optical retarder, and the optical retarder converts the circular polarization state of the ambient light to a second linear polarization state that is opposite to the first linear polarization state, and
the ambient light is incident on the second side of the linear polarizer with the second linear polarization state and is blocked by the linear polarizer.
20. The system of claim 2 , wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are formed on the optical device, and
wherein the system further comprises an anti-reflection (AR) coating formed on the first side of the linear polarizer.
21. The system of claim 2 , wherein the optical device comprises:
an optical guiding device configured to guide the target light to propagate along a first direction within the optical guiding device, the light having a spectral bandwidth with a peak wavelength;
an in-coupling diffractive structure configured to diffract the light to propagate in the optical guiding device; and
one or more out-coupling diffractive structures arranged downstream the in-coupling diffractive structure along the first direction and configured to diffract at least part of the light out of the optical guiding device to the target device along a second direction different from the first direction.
22. The system of claim 21 , wherein the in-coupling diffractive structure is configured to cause a first optical dispersion for the light, and at least one of the one or more out-coupling diffractive structures is configured to cause a second optical dispersion for the light, and
wherein the first optical dispersion and the second optical dispersion are compensated with each other, such that light diffracted out of the optical guiding device has no or little optical dispersion.
23. The system of claim 21 , wherein the target light comprises light with different colors, and wherein the in-coupling diffractive structure comprises a corresponding first diffraction grating for light with each of the different colors, and
wherein each of the plurality of out-coupling diffractive structures comprises a corresponding second diffraction grating for light with each of the different colors.
24. The system of claim 2 , wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are formed on a same side of the optical device.
25. The system of claim 2 , wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are formed on opposite sides of the optical device.
26. The system of claim 2 , wherein one of the linear polarizer and the optical retarder halves an intensity of the target light.
27. The system of claim 2 , wherein the target device comprises a display, a light sensor, or a camera.
28. A system comprising:
a target device, wherein the target device comprises a display that includes: a backplane having a plurality of circuits and a plurality of display elements arranged on the backplane, the plurality of display elements forming an irregular pattern, each of the plurality of display elements being coupled to a respective circuit of the plurality of circuits;
an optical device configured to deflect target light towards the target device;
a linear polarizer configured to transmit light with a linear polarization state;
an optical retarder configured to alter a polarization state of light passing through the optical retarder, wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are configured to cause ambient light coming from a first side of the linear polarizer to pass through the linear polarizer and the optical retarder to be incident on the target device and deflected back from the target device to pass through the optical retarder to be blocked from a second side of the linear polarizer by the linear polarizer, the second side of the linear polarizer being opposite to the first side of the linear polarizer, and wherein the optical device, the linear polarizer, and the optical retarder are configured to cause the target light to be incident on the target device and deflected back from the target device to transmit from the second side of the linear polarizer through the linear polarizer;
an illuminator configured to emit the target light; and
a controller coupled to the display and the illuminator,
wherein the controller is configured to:
transmit at least one control signal to at least one of the plurality of display elements for modulating at least one property of the at least one of the plurality of display elements,
sequentially modulate the display with information associated with a first color during a first time period and modulate the display with information associated with a second color during a second, sequential time period, and
control the illuminator to sequentially turn on a first light emitting element to emit light with the first color during the first time period and a second light emitting element to emit light with the second color during the second, sequential time period.
29. A system comprising:
an optical device configured to deflect target light towards a target device;
a linear polarizer configured to transmit light with a linear polarization state; and
an optical retarder configured to alter a polarization state of light passing through the optical retarder,
wherein the linear polarizer and the optical retarder are configured to cause ambient light coming from a first side of the linear polarizer to pass through the linear polarizer and the optical retarder to be incident on the target device and deflected back from the target device to pass through the optical retarder to be blocked from a second side of the linear polarizer by the linear polarizer, the second side of the linear polarizer being opposite to the first side of the linear polarizer,
wherein the optical device, the linear polarizer, and the optical retarder are configured to cause the target light to be incident on the target device and deflected back from the target device to transmit from the second side of the linear polarizer through the linear polarizer, and
wherein the optical device comprises:
an optical guiding device configured to guide the target light to propagate along a first direction within the optical guiding device, the light having a spectral bandwidth with a peak wavelength;
an in-coupling diffractive structure configured to diffract the light to propagate in the optical guiding device; and
one or more out-coupling diffractive structures arranged downstream the in-coupling diffractive structure along the first direction and configured to diffract at least part of the light out of the optical guiding device to the target device along a second direction different from the first direction.
30. The system of claim 29 , wherein the in-coupling diffractive structure is configured to cause a first optical dispersion for the light, and at least one of the one or more out-coupling diffractive structures is configured to cause a second optical dispersion for the light, and
wherein the first optical dispersion and the second optical dispersion are compensated with each other, such that light diffracted out of the optical guiding device has no or little optical dispersion.