A holographic system comprises a spatial light modulator and a pupil expander. The spatial light modulator is arranged to display a hologram of an image and to output spatially modulated light encoded with the hologram. In embodiments, the pupil expander comprises a plurality of optical fibres, each optical fibre having an input end and an output end. The pupil expander is arranged so that spatially modulated light output by the spatial light modulator is coupled into the input end of each optical fibre and output from the output end thereof to a viewing area. Each of the plurality of optical fibres is arranged to propagate the received spatially modulated light received at its input end so as to expand an exit pupil of the system in a first dimension, typically corresponding to a dimension of the viewing area.

Provided is a beam deflector including: a first electrode layer including a plurality of electrode patterns that are arranged in a first direction; a second electrode layer provided to oppose the first electrode layer; a liquid crystal layer provided between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and including a plurality of liquid crystal molecules; an input channel unit including a plurality of input channels; a demultiplexer configured to divide each of the input channels into a preset number of divided channels, and connect the divided channels to the electrode patterns; and a control circuit connected to the demultiplexer, and configured to control an output signal output from the divided channels to the first electrode layer.

A device includes a backplane and a plurality of elements arranged on the backplane. The plurality of elements form an irregular pattern. The backplane includes a plurality of circuits. The plurality of elements are coupled to the plurality of circuits by conductive vias that are regularly spaced.

Methods, apparatus, devices, subsystems, and systems for holographically displaying three-dimensional objects are provided. In one aspect, an optical device includes: an optical guiding device configured to guide light to propagate along a first direction within the optical guiding device, the light including multiple colors of light; an in-coupling diffractive structure configured to diffract the light to propagate in the optical guiding device; and a plurality of out-coupling diffractive structures arranged downstream of 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 along a second direction different from the first direction. The optical device can be configured for at least one of: color crosstalk suppression among the multiple colors of light, display zero order light suppression, dispersion compensation, or ambient light blocking.

A spatial light modulator including an electrode having a nano-antenna structure, and a display apparatus including the spatial light modulator are provided. The spatial light modulator includes a refractive index changing layer, and a pixel electrode and a common electrode which are configured to apply an electric field to the refractive index changing layer, and at least one of the pixel electrode and the common electrode include a nano-antenna pattern structure configured to resonate light.

A new optical arrangement that creates high efficiency, high quality Fresnel Incoherent Correlation Holography (FINCH) holograms using transmission liquid crystal GRIN (TLCGRIN) diffractive lenses has been invented. This is in contrast to the universal practice in the field of using a reflective spatial light modulator (SLM) to separate sample and reference beams. Polarization sensitive TLCGRIN lenses enable a straight optical path, have 95% transmission efficiency, are analog devices without pixels and are free of many limitations of reflective SLM devices. An additional advantage is that they create an incoherent holographic system that is achromatic over a wide bandwidth. Two spherical beams created by the combination of a glass and a polarization sensitive TLCGRIN lenses interfere and a hologram is recorded by a digital camera. FINCH configurations which increase signal to noise ratios and imaging speed are also described.

A multi-beam volumetric resin curing system and method for whole-volume additive manufacturing of an object includes a bath containing a photosensitive resin, a light source for producing a light beam, and a spatial light modulator which produces a phase- or intensity-modulated light beam by impressing a phase profile or intensity profile of an image onto a light beam received from the light source. The system and method also include projection optics which then produces multiple sub-image beams from the modulated light beam which are projected to intersect each other in the photosensitive resin to cure select volumetric regions of the resin in a whole-volume three-dimensional pattern representing the object.

A holographic display is provided. The display comprises (i) an illumination source configured to emit at least partially coherent light, (ii) a liquid crystal layer comprising an array of elements arranged to be illuminated by the light. The layer is configured such that: (a) when a first electric field is applied across an element of the liquid crystal layer, the light from the element has a first polarisation state, (b) when a second electric field is applied across the element, the light has a second polarisation state, and (c) when a third electric field is applied across the element, the light has a third polarisation state. The display further comprises (iii) a controller configured to control electric fields applied across the elements, and (iv) an output polarising element, configured to: (a) remove a portion of light having the first polarisation state and also transmit a portion of the light having the first polarisation state, (b) remove substantially all of the light having the second polarisation state, and (c) remove a portion of the light having the third polarisation state and also transmit a portion of the light having the third polarisation state. In this display, one of: (1) the second electric field is greater than the first electric field, and the third electric field is greater than the second electric field; and (2) the second electric field is lower than the first electric field, and the third electric field is lower than the second electric field.

A device includes a backplane and a plurality of elements arranged on the backplane. The plurality of elements form an irregular pattern. The backplane includes a plurality of circuits. The plurality of elements are coupled to the plurality of circuits by conductive vias that are regularly spaced.

A complex light modulator including a first polarization plate, a second polarization plate provided, an amplitude modulator provided between the first polarization plate and the second polarization plate, a phase modulator provided between the amplitude modulator and the second polarization plate, and color filters provided between the amplitude modulator and the phase modulator.