Three-dimensional holographic video display systems using multiple spatial light modulators

Spatial light modulators (SLMs) are commonly used in electro-holographic display systems. Liquid crystal on silicon, liquid crystal, mirror-based, acousto-optic and optically addressed devices are some of the SLM types. Most of the SLMs are digitally driven and pixelated; therefore, they are easy to use. We use phase-only SLMs in our experiments. Resolution and size of currently available SLMs are inadequate for satisfactory holographic reconstructions. Space-bandwidth product (SBP) is a good metric for the quality assessments. High SBP is needed when lateral or rotational motion is allowed for the observer. In our experiments 2D images whose sizes are even larger than the SLM size are reconstructed using single SLM holographic displays. Volume reconstructions are also obtained by using such displays. Either LED or laser illumination is used in our experiments. After the experiments with the single SLM holographic displays, some laboratory prototypes of multiple SLM holographic systems are designed and implemented. In a real-time color holographic display system, three SLMs are used for red, blue and green channels. GPU acceleration is also used to achieve video rates. Beam-splitters and micro-stages are used for the alignments in all multiple SLM designs. In another multiple SLM configuration, SLMs are tiled side by side to form a three by two matrix to increase both vertical and horizontal field of view. Larger field of view gives flexibility to the observer to move and rotate around the reconstructed images of objects. To further increase the field of view, SLMs are tiled in a circular configuration. A single large beamsplitter is used to tile the SLMs side by side without any gap. A cone mirror is used to direct incoming light toward all SLMs. Compared to planar configuration, circularly configured multiple SLMs increase the field of view, significantly. With the help of such configurations holographic videos of ghost-like 3D objects can be observed binocularly. Experimental results are satisfactory.