Example apparatuses and methods relating to imaging systems are provided. An example imaging system may include an optical source configured to generate an optical beam, a beam splitter configured to split the optical beam into a reference beam and an object beam, and a beam combiner configured to route a combined beam with reference beam and object beam components along a common path into a target medium. In this regard, the target medium may act upon the combined beam to form a common path interference beam. The example imaging system may further include an imaging sensor configured to receive the common path interference beam and generate common path interference beam data associated with the common path interference beam, and an image data processor configured to analyze the common path interference beam data to generate image data describing the target medium.

A see-through holographic display apparatus includes a relay optical system expanding or reducing and transferring a hologram image generated by a spatial light modulator, a noise removal filter removing noise from diffraction light of the hologram image transferred through the relay optical system, and a light path converter changing at least one of a path of the diffraction light of the hologram image transferred from the relay optical system and a path of external light.

A neural imaging system may include an imaging array, an image data processor operably coupled to the imaging array to process image data received from the imaging array, and a beam angle separator disposed between the imaging array and an object being imaged. The beam angle separator may be configured to separate an object beam reflected from the object being imaged into a plurality of reference beams each having different angular separation with respect to the object beam. The image data processor may be configured to generate image data of the object for each one of the reference beams to correspond to a respective different depth within the object.

The invention relates to a display device for holographic reconstruction. The display device comprises a spatial light modulator device having combined phase modulating pixels and amplitude modulating pixels, an illumination unit generating sufficiently coherent light and arranged to illuminate of the spatial light modulator device and a reflection plane. The device being arranged such that light enters the spatial light modulator device and passes both the phase modulating pixel and the amplitude modulating pixel of the spatial light modulator device. The light is reflected by the reflection plane in between.

An optical scanning holography system includes a polarization-sensitive lens configured to receive a linearly polarized beam and generate a first spherical wave of right-handed circular polarized light having a negative focal length and a second spherical wave of left-handed circular polarized light having a positive focal length, a first polarizer configured to pass only a beam component therethrough in a predetermined polarization direction among components of the generated first and second spherical waves, a scanning unit configured to scan an object by using an interference beam generated between the first and second spherical waves passing through the first polarizer, and a first photodetector configured to detect a beam reflected from the object.

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.

Disclosed are a beam combining/splitting modulator, a display apparatus including the same, and a spatial light modulation method. The beam combining/splitting modulator includes a light modulator including first and second modulation regions for modulating light, a polarization converter disposed at a side of an emitting surface of the light modulator and including a first transmissive region for polarizing and converting light incident from the first modulation region to have a first polarization and a second transmissive region for polarizing and converting light incident from the second modulation region to have a second polarization, a birefringence modulator disposed at the side of an emitting surface of the polarization converter and switching between a first state in which birefringence occurs and a second state in which birefringence does not occur, and a polarizer disposed at the side of an emitting surface of the birefringence modulator.

A holographic display includes a pixel array including one or more pixels, a holographic data source, a drive array, and a light source. Each pixel includes a phase-modulating structure and an amplitude-modulating structure. The holographic data source is configured to supply a holographic drive signal. The holographic drive signal includes, for each pixel in each of a plurality of time-varying holographic image frames, a phase component defining phase modulation for the pixel and an amplitude component defining amplitude modulation for the pixel. The drive array is configured to, for each pixel in each holographic image frame, modulate the phase-modulating structure according to the phase component and modulate the amplitude-modulating structure according to the amplitude component. The light source is configured to output coherent light to illuminate the one or more pixels of the pixel array.

An optical data-storage system comprises a laser, an imaging optic, and associated computer logic. The laser is configured to emit a pulsed wavefront having uniform phase and polarization. The imaging optic is configured to modulate the phase and polarization of different portions of the wavefront by different amounts, and to diffract light from the different portions to a substrate with writeable optical properties. The logic is configured to receive data and to control modulation of the phase and polarization such that the light diffracted from the imaging optic writes the data to the substrate.

An optical device comprises a pixel array including one or more pixels. Two or more independently controllable electrodes are electrically coupled to each pixel. A common ground reference electrode is electrically coupled to all pixels of the pixel array. Each pixel includes a plurality of liquid crystal molecules. The liquid crystal molecules may be oriented in a first direction based on a first function of voltages applied by the two or more independently controllable electrodes for the pixel, and oriented in a second direction based on a second function of the voltages applied by the two or more independently controllable electrodes for the pixel. In this way, both phase modulation and polarization modulation may be introduced to light illuminating the pixel array.