In a method for forming a holographic image, light is provided to a flat-panel holographic video display that includes waveguide elements that each have a light-guiding substrate and an array of transducers configured to produce a diffraction grating comprising surface acoustic waves. The grating causes the waveguide to outcouple light, focusing it to, or producing wavefront curvatures consistent with it having emanated from, one or more points, in order to form a holographic image. The transducer array may include a large number of densely packed, vertically-adjacent transducers for each hogel for full parallax or may include a small number of vertically-adjacent transducers and a cylindrical optical element for each hogel. The display may be edge-illuminated by a collinear multicolor source. The substrate exit face may have nanopatterned areas alternated with flat areas in order to create regions of optimal internal reflection next to regions of low reflection.

An electro-holographic light field generator device is disclosed. The light field generator device has an optical substrate with a waveguide face and an exit face. One or more surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulator devices are included within each light field generator device. The SAW devices each include a light input, a waveguide, and a SAW transducer, all configured for guided mode confinement of input light within the waveguide. A leaky mode deflection of a portion of the waveguided light, or diffractive light, impinges upon the exit face. Multiple output optics at the exit face are configured for developing from each of the output optics a radiated exit light from the diffracted light for at least one of the waveguides. An RF controller is configured to control the SAW devices to develop the radiated exit light as a three-dimensional output light field with horizontal parallax and compatible with observer vertical motion.

SAW modulators are used as components of diffractive imaging systems. Arrays of the modulators can be used to detect the light field from a scene. In specific applications, they can be used to provide matched filtering for object recognition.

A Quantitative Phase Imaging system uses acoustic pressure waves and has capability to measure the nano-mechanical disturbances formed on the cell. By means of the obtained images, cell hardness can be measured and the pato-physiologic features of the cancer cells shall be characterized. By means of this method where mechanical interaction is not directly used, it is aimed to display the characteristic vibration rings formed by the acoustic vibration rings on the cancer sample.

A method and system for recycling signals in a leaky mode device for a holographic display or other application. A leaky mode device comprises at least a first transducer, a substrate, and a second transducer. The first transducer may be configured to receive an input signal from a signal arbiter, which forwards to the first transducer as an input signal either a new input signal or a recycled input signal (or some combination of the two). The first transducer converts the received input signal to a SAW (surface acoustic wave) and transmits the SAW through the substrate to the second transducer, which converts the received SAW to an output signal, and forwards the output signal to an amplifier, which amplifies the output signal (now a recycled signal) and forwards to the signal arbiter. This system facilitates persistence for points in a holographic display without the need for continually rewriting to leaky mode devices.

A flat-panel holographic video display includes a control layer and waveguide elements. Each waveguide element has a light-guiding substrate and an array of transducers configured to produce a diffraction grating comprising surface acoustic waves. The grating causes the waveguide to outcouple light, focusing it to, or producing wavefront curvatures consistent with it having emanated from, one or more points, in order to form a holographic image. The transducer array may include a large number of densely packed, vertically-adjacent transducers for each hogel for full parallax or may include a small number of vertically-adjacent transducers and a cylindrical optical element for each hogel. A spatial filter may be used to block noise. The display may be edge-illuminated by a collinear multicolor source. The substrate exit face may have nanopatterned areas alternated with flat areas in order to create regions of optimal internal reflection next to regions of low reflection.

An augmented reality display device (such as a head mounted device) includes a partially transparent and partially reflective lens, a laser light source, a radio frequency source, a display controller, an acousto-optical modulator, and a microelectromechanical (MEMS) device. The laser light source generates light. The radio frequency (RF) source generates a RF signal. The display controller generates a synchronization signal. The acousto-optical modulator receives at least a portion of the light, modulates the light based on the RF signal, and provides modulated light. The MEMS device receives the synchronization signal from the display controller and reflects the modulated light towards the partially transparent and partially reflective lens. The MEMS device determines a direction in which the modulated light reflects based on the synchronization signal and the partially transparent and partially reflective lens reflecting the modulated laser light towards an eye of a user of the augmented realty display device.

Electro-holographic light field generator devices comprising surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulators are disclosed that employ multiple output couplers. These output couplers might be distributed along waveguides of the SAW modulators, within output coupling regions. Each of these output couplers can be configured for directing an incident leaky mode light at different output angles. In some cases, it may be desirable to employ the output couplers to function as different sub-pixels, to provide light to different viewing directions. The output couplers may be mirrors, volume gratings, chirped gratings, reflection gratings, two dimensional gratings, and/or transmission gratings. The output couplers may be angled so that the coupling output fans for each optical modulator are offset from the waveguide for that optical modulator.

Provided are an acousto-optic element, an acousto-optic element array, and a display apparatus including the acousto-optic element array. The acousto-optic element includes: an acousto-optic modulator which includes an acousto-optic layer formed of an acousto-optic material; a light supplier which supplies light to the acousto-optic modulator in a first direction; a first sound-wave modulator which applies first elastic waves to the acousto-optic modulator in a second direction; and a second sound-wave modulator which applies second elastic waves to the acousto-optic modulator in a third direction. The light supplied from the light supplier to the acousto-optic modulator is deflected by diffraction caused by the first elastic waves applied from the first sound-wave modulator and diffraction caused by the second elastic waves applied from the second sound-wave modulator, and is output from the acousto-optic modulator through a front side of the acousto-optic modulator.

An electro-holographic light field generator device comprises surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulators arranged in different directions. Specifically, some embodiments have SAW modulators arranged in pairs, nose-to-nose with each other, and have output couplers that provide face-fire light emission. These SAW modulators also possibly include SAW sense transducers and/or viscoelastic surface material to reduce crosstalk.