Hardware and software improvements to a low-cost horizontal parallax holographic video monitor: publisher's note.

This publisher's note corrects a trademark concern in Appl. Opt.57, A122 (2018)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.57.00A122.

Hardware and software improvements to a low-cost horizontal parallax holographic video monitor.

Displays capable of true holographic video have been prohibitively expensive and difficult to build. With this paper, we present a suite of modularized hardware components and software tools needed to build a HoloMonitor with basic "hacker-space" equipment, highlighting improvements that have enabled the total materials cost to fall to $820, well below that of other holographic displays. It is our hope that the current level of simplicity, development, design flexibility, and documentation will enable the lay engineer, programmer, and scientist to relatively easily replicate, modify, and build upon our designs, bringing true holographic video to the masses.

Backside emission leaky-mode modulators.

We report on an advancement to leaky-mode modulators that allows for backside emission from the device. This is accomplished by adding a high spatial frequency surface relief grating (~300 nm period) to the backside of the modulator. The outcome being a theoretical arbitrary increase in usable output aperture, at the cost of angular deflection. Using backside emission, it is now possible for leaky mode modulators to be used to create transparent, holographic, direct-view near-eye displays.

Characterization of Anisotropic Leaky Mode Modulators for Holovideo.

Holovideo displays are based on light-bending spatial light modulators. One such spatial light modulator is the anisotropic leaky mode modulator. This modulator is particularly well suited for holographic video experimentation as it is relatively simple and inexpensive to fabricate. Some additional advantages of leaky mode devices include: large aggregate bandwidth, polarization separation of signal light from noise, large angular deflection and frequency control of color. In order to realize these advantages, it is necessary to be able to adequately characterize these devices as their operation is strongly dependent on waveguide and transducer parameters. To characterize the modulators, the authors use a commercial prism coupler as well as a custom characterization apparatus to identify guided modes, calculate waveguide thickness and finally to map the device's frequency input and angular output of leaky mode modulators. This work gives a detailed description of the measurement and characterization of leaky mode modulators suitable for full-color holographic video.