Etendue Expansion in Holographic Near Eye Displays through Sparse Eye-box Generation Using Lens Array Eyepiece

In this paper, we present a novel method the etendue expansion of near-eye holographic displays through the generation of a sparse eye-box. Conventional holographic near-eye displays have suffered from narrow field of view or narrow eye-box due to the limited etendue supported by a spatial light modulator. We focus on the fact that these displays typically form a dense eye-box, which could be an excessive investment of the limited etendue. By rearranging the eye-box in a sparse manner, the practical etendue can be extended. With a properly designed sparse eye-box shape, it can provide the 3D holographic images and ensure continuous light entrance to the pupil. To create a sparse eye-box, we utilize a lens array as an eyepiece lens. We optimize the spatial light modulator's phase profile for the proposed system and analyze the impact of the use of the lens array eyepiece on the holographic image quality. In particular, we focus on the lens array specification of the lenslet pitch and the focal length, deriving feasible specifications based on our analysis. We experimentally demonstrate a near eye see-through display using the proposed system and verify the etendue expansion.