Holographic wave field synthesis using refractive elements

We present a new scheme for holographic wave field synthesis that is based on the physical principle of refraction. The presented approach is particularly suited for the display of three dimensional scenes and has the potential to produce a 3D sensation of dynamic scenes with full depth perception, motion parallax and without the requirement of eye glasses. We provide a comparison between light being generated by diffractive holography and a refractive holographic display in phase space in order to highlight pros and cons of both approaches. Finally, we show an example of a refractive holographic display showing a static and periodic dot pattern floating in space. It consists of a lenslet array placed on top of a commercial OLED display. We show that the scene exhibits crucial depth cues, including depth of field and full parallax.