Color display device and method using holographic lenses

A lens structure for spatially separating white light into component radiation wavebands centered on a plurality of discrete wavelengths, comprising:

• a plurality of area holographic lenses, each lens being responsive to a radiation waveband centered about a respective one of said discrete wavelengths, and
• an optically transmissive substrate means, the holographic lens for each waveband being disposed on the substrate means and offset in staggered order from the lenses for the other wavebands such that the total of the incremental offsets for the successive lenses in a full set of the discrete wavelengths approximately equals the dimension of each lens in the offset direction.

A lens structure for spatially separating white light into component radiation wavebands centered on red, green and blue wavelengths, comprising:

• first, second and third holographic lens arrays, each lens array comprising a plurality of lateral holographic lenses, the three lens arrays being responsive to radiation wavebands centered respectively on red, green and blue,
• the lenses of each array being offset in staggered order from the lenses of each of the other arrays by approximately one-third the lens dimensions along the offset, and
• transparent substrate means mounting aid lenses.

A color display panel for displaying selected elements of an input light beam having a plurality of different waveband components, comprising:

• an optical display panel divided into an array of pixels corresponding to the various wavebands, and
• a holographic lens assembly spaced from the display panel and adapted to receive an input light beam, the lens assembly comprising, for each waveband, a plurality of generally adjacent holographic lenses adapted to at least partially focus light within the waveband onto respective pixels and to generally transmit light outside the waveband, the holographic lenses for the different wavebands being offset from each other and partially overlapping so that light transmitted through substantially all locations in the lens array encounters a lens for each of the different wavebands,
• whereby substantially all the light in an input light beam is displayed at the display panel in its constituent wavebands.

A method of displaying an input beam of electromagnetic radiation in its discrete component wavebands, the beam having a plurality of different waveband components, comprising:

• directing each spatial portion of the beam through a series of lenses in staggered order equal in number to the number of component wavebands, each lens being adapted to at least partially focus radiation outside its waveband, each lens overlapping at least one lens for each of the other wavebands.