Transformation from tiled to composite images

A three-dimensional (3D) electronic display comprising:

• a mapping circuit configured to map pixels from different 3D views of a 3D image in a tiled image stored in a single buffer into pixels at corresponding locations in a composite image, each of the different 3D views being stored in a different tile of a plurality of contiguous tiles of the tiled image stored in the single buffer, wherein the composite image is configured to spatially interleave the pixels from the different 3D views so that pixels from each of the different 3D views are distributed across the composite image;
• a plate light guide configured to guide collimated light as a guided light beam at a non-zero propagation angle;
• and
• an array of multibeam diffraction gratings at a surface of the plate light guide, each multibeam diffraction grating of the multibeam diffraction grating array comprising contiguous diffractive features and being configured to diffractively couple out a portion of the guided light beam as a plurality of coupled-out light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to view directions of the different 3D views,
• wherein the plurality of coupled-out light beams diffractively coupled-out by each multibeam diffraction grating forms a light field consistent with the view directions of the different 3D views of the 3D image.

A method of transforming a tiled image into a composite image, the method comprises:

• accessing a tiled image stored in a single buffer in a display driver, the tiled image including a plurality of tiles having a contiguous arrangement, wherein each tile of the tiled image includes a different one of a plurality of different 3D views of a 3D image;
• mapping pixels from different 3D views of the plurality of different 3D views into pixels at corresponding locations in a composite image, wherein the composite image spatially interleaves the pixels from the different 3D views so that pixels from each of the different 3D views are distributed across the composite image;
• and
• diffractively coupling out a portion of collimated guided light from within a plate light guide as a plurality of the light beams having different principal angular directions, the light beams being emitted from a surface of a 3D electronic display using an array of multibeam diffraction gratings, each multibeam diffraction grating comprising contiguous diffractive features and diffractively coupling out a separate plurality of the light beams,
• wherein the different principal angular directions of the light beams within each light beam plurality correspond to view directions of the plurality of different 3D views, the light beams within each light beam plurality collectively forming a light field consistent with the view directions.