Fast Updatable Large-area Holographic Display

Mapping awareness of battlefield is increasingly valuable for many military mission planning and activities, particularly in complex urban and mountainous terrain. Currently available two-dimensional (2D) visualization techniques have limit capacity to achieve understanding of full dimensionality of the battlefield. Rewritable 3D holographic storage is promising for updatable 3D display applications. Based on our encouraging preliminary study on reversible nonvolatile holographic storage, New Span Opto-Technology Inc. proposes herein a novel large-area 3D updateable holographic display (UHD), capable of reversible recording and nonvolatile reading based on a novel bi-photonic holographic technique without using high-voltage electrical field across the polymer film. The proposed technique exploits one laser source for both coherent recording and reading processes. The Phase I research will focus on feasibility studies of the proposed UHD concept by recording reversible holograms and reading the stored information without volatility using azobenzene photorefractive polymer films. In Phase II, we will improve the system design and construct and characterize a 300 x 300 mm prototype true 3-D display system. We will study the functionality of the prototype system through demonstration of high diffraction efficiencies, wide viewing angles, fast writing times, long persistence of hours or more, controllable erasure with thousands write/rewrite cycle capability.