Viewing-angle enhancement of speckle-reduced volume holographic three-dimensional display by use of integral imaging

In a conventional integral imaging system the viewing angle is limited by the f-number of the microlens. To overcome this limitation we employ a phase-conjugate beam to read out elemental images, which are stored in photorefractive volume holographic storage, while the rotating diffuser reduces the speckle noise. In the proposed system the viewing angle can be enhanced over the f-number limitation. Experimental results and discussions of viewing parameters are presented.     

Depth-enhanced three-dimensional integral imaging by use of multilayered display devices

Integral imaging is one of the promising three-dimensional display techniques and has many advantages. However, one disadvantage of integral imaging is the limited image depth. The image can be displayed only around the central depth plane. We propose a depth-enhanced integral imaging using multilayered display devices. We locate transparent display devices that use liquid crystal in parallel to each other and incorporate them into an integral imaging system. As a result, the proposed method has multiple central depth planes and permits the limitation of expressible depth to be overcome. The principle of the proposed method is explained, and some experimental results are presented.     

Enhanced three-dimensional integral imaging system by use of double display devices

We propose an enhanced three-dimensional (3D) integral imaging system using multiple display devices. Experimental results with double devices prove the improvement in the image depth for a given image quality. We present experiments on an enhanced 3D integral imaging system using double display devices, in which two 3D subimages that cover different depth ranges are separately generated in each device, and then they are combined with a beam splitter to reconstruct the whole 3D image with an enhanced depth of view. In a similar manner, the double-device system can also be used to obtain a wider viewing angle by combining two images with different viewing angle ranges. We discuss the possibility of 3D integral imaging systems using multiple display devices as extensions of the system with double display devices.     

Wide-viewing integral three-dimensional imaging by use of orthogonal polarization switching

A wide-viewing integral three-dimesional (3D) imaging system that adopts orthogonal polarization switching is proposed and demonstrated. In our scheme,the polarizing sheet attached to the lens array and the orthogonal polarization switching of the elemental image array perform elemental lens switching. The experimental results document that the viewing angle becomes remarkably wider than that of the conventional method. The distinguishing feature of our system is that it requires no mechanical moving part. In addition, because a commercially available polarization shutter screen is used for electrical switching, it is easy to implement this as a practical system. We believe that the proposed method facilitates the practical use of this wide-viewing integral 3D imaging system.     

Digital three-dimensional image correlation by use of computer-reconstructed integral imaging

We use integral images of a three-dimensional (3D) scene to estimate the longitudinal depth of multiple objects present in the scene. With this information, we digitally reconstruct the objects in three dimensions and compute 3D correlations of input objects. We investigate the use of nonlinear techniques for 3D correlations. We present experimental results for 3D reconstruction and correlation of 3D objects. We demonstrate that it is possible to perform 3D segmentation of 3D objects in a scene. We finally present experiments to demonstrate that the 3D correlation is more discriminant than the two-dimensional correlation.     

N-ocular volume holographic imaging

Volume holographic imaging utilizes Bragg selectivity to optically slice the object space of the imaging system and measure four- (three spatial and one spectral) dimensional object information. The N-ocular version of this method combines multiple-volume holographic sensors and digital postprocessing to yield high-resolution three-dimensional images for broadband objects located at long working distances. We discuss the physical properties of volume holography pertinent to imaging performance and describe two computational algorithms for image inversion based on filtered backprojection and least-squares optimization.     

Broadband volume holographic imaging

We demonstrate transmission geometry volume holograms working under broadband illumination. We show that increased illumination bandwidth enhances the lateral field of view of planar reference holograms. We exploit this phenomenon to design volume holographic spectrum analyzers and present results from an experimental prototype. Furthermore, we show that there is a trade-off involved, because an improvement in the field of view results in a reduction of image contrast as a function of depth. We experimentally demonstrate this trade-off and discuss possible ways to overcome it.     

Implementation of a spatially multiplexed pixelated three-dimensional display by use of a holographic optical element array

A pixelated holographic stereogram is proposed and experimentally studied for the emulation of a spatially multiplexed composite three-dimensional (3-D) pixel display. With this approach, pixelated holograms are utilized to compose spatially multiplexed images. Each composite pixel in the holographic optical element array has a diffraction pattern that scatters light into predefined spatial directions. Under reconstruction, each pixel generates different intensities along a range of viewing angles. When the composite holographic pixel array is assembled, it has the capability to deliver 3-D effects. The technique, together with a novel recording scheme that is designed to synthesize a computerized 3-D display system based on this concept, is described in some detail.     

Moire fringe reduction by optical filters in integral three-dimensional imaging on a color flat-panel display

We propose a method to reduce the color moire fringes that are attributable to the structure of a color flat-panel display in integral three-dimensional imaging. The method uses two types of optical low-pass filter, diffuser and defocus. The effectiveness of the method was confirmed in an experiment. We describe a way to design these filters with moire's residual energy and video signal energy as indices and demonstrate the validity of the model, which combines two filters to reduce moire fringes.     

Confocal-rainbow volume holographic imaging system

The performance of broadband volume holographic imaging system in terms of depth selectivity is investigated. The mechanism for depth resolution degradation is explained. In order to overcome this resolution degradation, a novel imaging device, the confocal-rainbow volume holographic imaging system, is proposed. Modeling and experimental validation of the performance of this novel imaging system indicates that depth resolution <16 μm is achievable. The lateral resolution of this device is <2.5 μm along a field of view of 300 μm×100 μm.     

Curved computational integral imaging reconstruction technique for resolution-enhanced display of three-dimensional object images

A novel curved computational integral imaging reconstruction (C-CIIR) technique for the virtually curved integral imaging (VCII) system is proposed, and its performances are analyzed. In the C-CIIR model, an additional virtual large-aperture lens is included to provide a multidirectional curving effect in the reconstruction process, and its effect is analyzed in detail by using the ABCD matrix. With this method, resolution-enhanced 3D object images can be computationally reconstructed from the picked-up elemental images of the VCII system. To confirm the feasibility of the proposed model, some experiments are carried out. Experiments revealed that the sampling rate in the VCII system could be kept at a maximum value within some range of the distance z, whereas in the conventional integral imaging system it linearly decreased as the distance z increased. It is also shown that resolutions of the object images reconstructed by the C-CIIR method have been significantly improved compared with those of the conventional CIIR method.     

Real-time all-optical three-dimensional integral imaging projector

We present an all-optical three-dimensional integral imaging projector. An optically addressed spatial-light modulator is used, which potentially provides better image resolution than the conventional CCD and liquid-crystal display pair. We present experimental results using a liquid-crystal light valve.     

Tunable viewing scope of three-dimensional integral imaging

This article defines the tunable viewing scope (TVS) of three-dimensional integral imaging (3DII) considering the human eye's performance, which could provide a fine viewing effect without flipping or information missing. TVS required by different applications is achieved through an innovative method, attaching the reserved blank to the elemental images. The viewing comfort improvement resulting from TVS is verified by practical experiments, which indicates that it would be promising for future applications of 3DII.     

Short-coherence digital microscopy by use of a lensless holographic imaging system

An optical system based on short-coherence digital holography suitable for three-dimensional (3D) microscopic investigations is described. The light source is a short-coherence laser, and the holograms are recorded on a CCD sensor. The interference (hologram) occurs only when the path lengths of the reference and the object beam are matched within the coherence length of the laser. The image of the part of the sample that matches the reference beam is reconstructed by numerical evaluation of the hologram. The advantages of the method are high numerical aperture (this means high spatial resolution), detection of the 3D shape, and a lensless imaging system. Experimental results are presented.     

Generation of three-dimensional integral images from a holographic pattern of 3-D objects

We present a novel approach for generating three-dimensional (3-D) integral images from a fringe pattern of 3-D objects. A recorded hologram of 3-D objects is segmented into a number of subholograms. Then, different views of 3-D objects are reconstructed from them because each subhologram has its own perspective of 3-D objects in the recording process. These locally reconstructed images can be rearranged as the same subimage array of the conventional integral-imaging system and transformed into virtually picked-up elemental images of 3-D objects. From this newly generated elemental image array, 3-D images could easily be reconstructed by using a white light. Experiments with a 3-D test object have been performed and the results have been presented.     

Three-dimensional color holographic display

Three-dimensional (3D) color holograms are recorded in a cerium-doped, strontium barium niobate (SBN:60) photorefractive crystal. These holograms are shown to reconstruct true color reproductions of the original object with an observable field of view of 37 degrees . Angle multiplexing of two or more 3D color holograms is also demonstrated with angle tuning of the reference beam corresponding to a separation angle between stored images of 0.082 degrees . Each of these results is compared with corresponding theoretical predictions.     

Hybrid holographic microscopy: visualization of three-dimensional object information by use of viewing angles

One of the attractive features of hybrid holographic microscopy, in which the hologram of a microscopic object recorded by an image sensor is numerically reconstructed with a computer, is that the three-dimensional (3-D) information of a recorded object is obtained. The 3-D information has often been extracted by means of changing the reconstruction distance in the numerical reconstruction process, but here we describe an alternative technique that allows for variable viewing angles. That is, the perspective from which the object is viewed can be varied. The approximation used enables use of the fast-Fourier-transform algorithm for numerical reconstruction even in the high-resolution case in which the Fresnel approximation is no longer valid. The resolution of the proposed technique is also discussed.     

Viewing angle enhanced integral imaging display by using a high refractive index medium

In the integral imaging system, the viewing angle is limited by the size and focal length of the elemental lens. In this regard, we propose a new method for the viewing angle enhancement in the InIm. The proposed method employs a refractive index medium between the elemental image plane and the lens array. The viewing angle enhanced InIm display is analyzed based on the imaging terms. The experimental result shows that the viewing angle is doubled.     

Shannon number and information capacity of three-dimensional integral imaging

Integral imaging systems performance has been previously investigated with regard to different parameters such as lateral resolution, field of view, and depth of view. Those parameters are linked to one another, and, since the information capacity of an integral imaging system is finite, there are always trade-offs among them. We use the Shannon number and information capacity limit as figures of merit of integral imaging systems. The Shannon number and information capacity provide compact assessments of the system and are useful for analysis and design. The limitations on the Shannon number and the information capacity of an integral imaging system are determined by the recording and display media.     

Photon-counting three-dimensional integral imaging with compression of elemental images

In this paper, we present lossless compression of elemental images in photon-counting integral imaging. In order to verify the performance of the compression method applied to low light level three-dimensional (3D) integral imaging, we compute the correlation coefficient and peak to mean square error (PSNR) as metrics for 3D scene reconstruction integrity. We show quantitatively via experiments that a considerable compression of the elemental images in photon-counting integral imaging may be achievable without significant loss in the performance in terms of correlation and PSNR metrics. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on applying lossless compression algorithms in photon-counting 3D computational integral imaging.