System and method for presenting image content on multiple depth planes by providing multiple intra-pupil parallax views

A head-mountable display system comprising:

• a light source configured to emit light from different output locations;
• a spatial light modulator configured to receive the light emitted by the light source and to modulate the received light to form virtual content, wherein the light that is emitted by the light source from at least two of the different output locations is received and modulated simultaneously at different respective areas of the spatial light modulator to form images of the virtual content, and wherein the light that is emitted from the at least two different output locations of the light source and that is received at the different respective areas of the spatial light modulator has a same polarization state;
• and
• projection optics configured to direct the modulated light from the spatial light modulator toward an eye of a wearer of the head-mountable display system to inject the images of the virtual content into the eye,
• wherein the display system is configured to display the virtual content on a depth plane by simultaneously injecting, into the eye, a set of images of the virtual content that are output simultaneously from the different respective areas of the spatial light modulator that have a lateral separation.