Optical system

A method of holographic image formation, the method comprising:

• spatially modulating light in accordance with a hologram displayed on a display device to form a holographic wavefront;
• forming a holographic reconstruction of an image, wherein the holographic reconstruction is formed downstream of the display device;
• forming a virtual image of the holographic reconstruction upstream of the display device using an optical component;
• forming a relayed hologram and a relayed holographic reconstruction with an optical relay between the display device and waveguide, wherein the optical relay comprises two lens arranged in cooperation, wherein the relayed hologram is an image of the hologram displayed on the display device, and wherein the relayed holographic reconstruction is an image of the holographic reconstruction formed by the hologram displayed on the display device;
• wherein the optical component is between the relayed holographic reconstruction and the waveguide, and wherein (a) a distance between the relayed holographic reconstruction and the optical component is less than a focal length of the optical component such that the virtual image of the holographic reconstruction formed by the optical component is a virtual image of the relayed holographic reconstruction and (b) a distance between the relayed hologram and the optical component is equal to a focal length of the optical component such that the image of the hologram formed by the optical component is a virtual image formed at infinity;
• forming an image of the displayed hologram at infinity or downstream of a waveguide using the optical component;
• and
• receiving the holographic wavefront at a waveguide and waveguiding the holographic wavefront between a pair of reflective surfaces thereof, wherein one surface of the pair of reflective surfaces is partially transmissive such that a plurality of replicas of the holographic wavefront are emitted therefrom;
• wherein the optical component is between the holographic reconstruction and the waveguide.

Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media comprising program instructions stored therein, wherein the program instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause an optical system to perform a method of holographic image formation comprising:

• spatially modulating light in accordance with a hologram displayed on a display device to form a holographic wavefront;
• forming a holographic reconstruction of an image, wherein the holographic reconstruction is formed downstream of the display device;
• forming a virtual image of the holographic reconstruction upstream of the display device using an optical component;
• forming a relayed hologram and a relayed holographic reconstruction with an optical relay between the display device and waveguide, wherein the optical relay comprises two lens arranged in cooperation, wherein the relayed hologram is an image of the hologram displayed on the display device, and wherein the relayed holographic reconstruction is an image of the holographic reconstruction formed by the hologram displayed on the display device;
• wherein the optical component is between the relayed holographic reconstruction and the waveguide, and wherein (a) a distance between the relayed holographic reconstruction and the optical component is less than a focal length of the optical component such that the virtual image of the holographic reconstruction formed by the optical component is a virtual image of the relayed holographic reconstruction and (b) a distance between the relayed hologram and the optical component is equal to a focal length of the optical component such that the image of the hologram formed by the optical component is a virtual image formed at infinity;
• forming an image of the displayed hologram downstream of a waveguide using the optical component;
• and
• receiving the holographic wavefront at a waveguide and waveguiding the holographic wavefront between a pair of reflective surfaces thereof, wherein one surface of the pair of reflective surfaces is partially transmissive such that a plurality of replicas of the holographic wavefront are emitted therefrom;
• wherein the optical component is between the holographic reconstruction and the waveguide.