Abstract

Film display holograms typically diffract light over a wide enough view-angle to be viewed, directly, without intervening optics. However, all holographic video displays must use optics beyond the hologram surface to overcome the challenges of small display extent and low diffraction angle by using some form of demagnification and derotation. We report a leaky mode waveguide spatial light modulator (SLM) with sufficiently high angular diffraction to obviate the need for demagnification in scanned aperture systems. This was achieved by performing a number of experiments to determine the depth of the annealed, proton-exchanged waveguide which corresponded to a maximized diffracted angle. Diffraction sweeps were recorded in excess of 19.5° for 632.8 nm light which is above the 15° required for direct view display. Moreover, we present a paired set of waveguide SLMs capable of a maximum light deflection nearing 28° for red. This deflection, which is several times larger than the angular sweep of current, state-of-the-art modulators, is made possible by the unilateral, near-collinear waveguide nature of the leaky mode interaction. The ability to double angular output in this way, which is either not possible or not practical in other SLMs, is possible in leaky mode devices, thanks to the absence of zero-order light and the lack of high-order outputs. This combined structure has angular deflection high enough to enable color holographic video monitors that do not require angular magnification. Furthermore, the low cost and high angular deflection of these devices may make it possible to make large arrays for flat-screen video holography. One improvement that could be made to the current setup would be to increase the device's diffraction efficiency. One highly influential factor of diffraction efficiency for a Bragg-regime surface acoustic wave (SAW) grating is the length of the interaction between the light and the grating. In this work, we have shown that guided light in a reverse proton exchanged (RPE) waveguide experiences less loss. This enables us to create longer devices which eventually results in devices with higher diffraction efficiency. We have also researched on LCoS SLMs and used them for two different applications: (a) photophoretic-trap volumetric displays and (b) holographic video displays. In the first case, aberrations including spherical, astigmatism, and coma can make particles to trap tighter in the focal point of the beam. Also, a new approach for holographic computations is presented which uses the electromagnetic nature of light in Maxwell Equations to find a unique phase map for every specific 3D object in space.

Degree

PhD

College and Department

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology; Electrical and Computer Engineering

Rights

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