Imaging apparatus and methods using diffraction-based illumination are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a diffraction grating to redirect light from a light source toward a sample to thereby illuminate the sample. The example apparatus also includes an image sensor to detect a diffraction pattern created by the illuminated sample.

A device and method for recording and reproducing holographic information, and a display apparatus are disclosed. The device for recording holographic information comprises an electro-optical regulating element, which is arranged in a light path between an object to be reproduced and a recording medium, receives an object beam scattered by the object to be reproduced, and regulates an outgoing direction and a focal distance of the object beam to irradiate the recording medium. The recording medium is configured to receive the reference beam from the light source and the object beam regulated by the electro-optical regulating element. The reference beam and the object beam form information relevant with the object to be reproduced in the recording medium. By regulating the outgoing direction and focal distance of beam with the electro-optical regulating element, it is unnecessary to rotate the recording medium for recording and reproducing the holographic information.

A holographic imaging device includes a laser device, a laser beam expanding and collimating system and a liquid crystal cell. The laser beam expanding and collimating system is configured to expand a light beam from the laser device and enable the expanded light beam to be transmitted substantially vertically to the liquid crystal cell. An amplitude-transmission coefficient distribution of the liquid crystal cell is determined in accordance with a brightness distribution of holographic interference fringes of an object to be displayed.

A holographic projector includes an illumination system arranged to illuminate a hologram displayed on the pixel area of a spatial light modulator to form a holographic wavefront, and further includes a waveguide including an input port arranged to receive the holographic wavefront and a pair of opposing surfaces arranged to waveguide the holographic wavefront. A first surface of the pair of opposing surfaces is partially reflective-transmissive such that a plurality of replicas of the holographic wavefront are emitted therefrom. The illumination system includes a light source arranged to emit diverging light and a first collimating lens arranged to collimate the light. The collimated light has a varying intensity profile, in at least one dimension. The illumination system is configured such that the pixel area is contained within an area delineated by the width of the intensity profile of the collimated light at half the maximum intensity of said intensity profile.

An illumination apparatus includes a light source unit emitting coherent light in a first direction, a first light division unit, including a plurality of first slots, receiving the coherent light, each slot of the plurality of first slots reflecting a part of the coherent light in a second direction crossing the first direction, and a surface lighting plate including a plurality of second light division units, each light division unit of the plurality of second light division units includes a light guide through which light progresses, and each light division unit of the plurality of second light division units includes a plurality of second slots. Each slot of the plurality of second slots of each second light division unit reflects a part of the coherent light received from a corresponding slot of the plurality of first slots in a third direction which crosses the first and second directions.

Holographic display device and operation method thereof are provided. A holographic display device includes a light source device including a plurality of, light sources; and an imager including a plurality of imaging regions each corresponding to one light source. The imager includes at least one spatial light modulator configured to receive light from the plurality of light sources to form a plurality of holographic images.

A holographic display apparatus and a display method thereof are disclosed. The holographic display apparatus includes: a backlight source configured to supply a coherent reference light; an optical switch configured to modulate light wave amplitude information of the coherent reference light; and a phase control plate configured to modulate light wave phase information of the coherent reference light, wherein the phase control plate and the optical switch are arranged on a light exit side of the backlight source.

A hologram image acquiring apparatus may include: a linear polarizer that filters incident light reflected by an object into a polarized component of a specific angle; a spherical lens that partially converts light that is incident through the linear polarizer to a spherical waveform; and a phase shifter that converts a part of the light incident through the spherical lens to a plane waveform having a different phase per pixel unit.

A system for performing quantitative phase-contrast confocal microscopy includes a light source that emits light, a first beam splitter that splits the emitted light into an illumination path and a hologram path, means provided along the illumination path for delivering a first part of the emitted light to an object as a collimated line, a light sensor that captures light reflected off of the object to obtain an intensity image for the collimated line, and means provided along the hologram path for delivering a second part of the emitted light to the light sensor at an off-axis angle to obtain an off-axis hologram for the collimated line.

A backlight module, a spatial light modulator, a holographic display device and a holographic display method therefor are disclosed. The backlight module includes: a light source; an optical conversion element arranged to face the light source and configured to convert a light beam emitted by the light source into coherent collimated light; and a light switch layer disposed at a side of the optical conversion element away from the light source. The optical conversion element includes a plurality of sub-optical conversion regions. The light switch layer includes a plurality of sub-light switches, the plurality of sub-light switches and the plurality of sub-optical conversion regions being disposed in one-to-one correspondence.