The invention relates to an illumination device for illuminating at least one light modulator system of a liquid crystal display, the device comprising at least one waveguide substrate for guiding at least one targeted light beam that can be coupled into the waveguide substrate. The waveguide substrate is at least in optical contact with at least one holographic optical decoupling substrate comprising a plurality of decoupling regions and a decoupling region is at least designed to decouple part of the targeted light beam in the form of a plurality of sub-beams in the direction of the light modulator system. At least one diffuser module is provided, said diffuser module being designed in such a way that at least the outermost sub-beams of two neighboring decoupling regions are at least adjacent to one another before exiting the diffuser module.

A method for design and fabrication of holographic optical elements for a compact holographic sight is proposed. The method includes use of ray-trace software to design holographic elements having optical power using an intermediate hologram with parameters obtained through minimization of the merit function defining image quality.

A vehicle switch is provided that includes a substrate. A holographic film is positioned on the substrate. A first light source and a second light source are configured to emit a light onto the film and a proximity switch assembly is positioned on the substrate. The holographic film is configured to create a projected image above the holographic film.

A backlight unit may include: a light source providing coherent light; a light guide plate having a light entrance surface on which light from the light source is incident and a light exit surface through which the light is output; a plurality of diffraction gratings (for example, a first input grating, a second input grating, and a third input grating) that are arranged in different regions of the light guide plate to sequentially diffract the light from the light source such that that the beam width of the light may increase as the light propagates in the light guide plate; and a diffraction grating (for example, an output grating) that diffracts and outputs the light having an increased beam width in a direction toward the outside of the light guide plate.

An optical article including a substrate, and a holographic waveguide covering at least part of the substrate and including two main surfaces, at least one of them conforming to a surface of the substrate, and at least first and second zones that are configured so that light incoming on one of the first and second zones is at least partially guided towards the other of the first and second zones.

An optical system comprises an imaging holographic optical element, which produces a floating hologram. An upstream light-forming holographic optical element causes spectral filtering of the light.

The invention relates to a method for recording a plurality of scatter volume holograms in a photopolymeric recording medium, the method comprising at least the following steps providing a first laser light source, providing a photopolymeric recording medium comprising a substrate and a photoactive layer, wherein the photopolymeric recording medium has an index modulation n of at least 0.04 and a thickness d of the photoactive layer of at least 25 m, irradiating the photopolymeric recording medium with the first laser light beam generated by the first laser light source with a minimum irradiation energy dosage of 3*D.sub.i, D.sub.i; being the inhibition dosage of the photoactive layer, wherein the irradiation of the photopolymeric recording medium is performed such that the light of the irradiating first laser light beam is scattered at scattering centers, the scattering centers being generated by the chemical react ion in the photoactive layer induced by the first laser light beam thus forming a plurality of scatter volume holo grams by interaction between the irradiating first laser light beam and the scattered light of the first laser light beam.

An illumination apparatus includes a light source, a light guide plate, and an adjacent layer. The light guide plate includes a first surface, a second surface facing the first surface, and plural light exit portions provided on one of the first and second surfaces. The light guide plate guides therethrough a beam of light incident upon one of the first and second surfaces while reflecting the beam between the first and second surfaces. The light guide plate redirects the beam incident upon any one of the plural light exit portions so as to cause the beam to exit the light guide plate. The adjacent layer provided adjacent to at least one of the first and second surfaces has a lower refractive index than that of the light guide plate and increases a critical angle compared to that observed when air exists instead of the adjacent layer.

An imaging system includes a light source configured to produce a plurality of spatially separated light beams. The system also includes an injection optical system configured to modify the plurality of beams, such that respective pupils formed by beams of the plurality exiting from the injection optical system are spatially separated from each other. The system further includes a light-guiding optical element having an in-coupling grating configured to admit a first beam of the plurality into the light-guiding optical element while excluding a second beam of the plurality from the light-guiding optical element, such that the first beam propagates by substantially total internal reflection through the light-guiding optical element.

A display device includes an optical sensor configured to image a user eye, an image source configured to provide image light, a holographic film including a plurality of holograms, and a controller. Each hologram is recorded with a same reference beam but recorded differently so as to differently diffract image light received from the light source. The controller is configured to determine, via the optical sensor, a position of the user eye, and adjust, based on the determined position of the user eye, a state of the holographic film such that a particular hologram of the plurality of holograms diffracts image light to the position of the user eye.