Spatial Light Modulator Beam Control for Holographic Glare Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Holographic systems in vehicle lighting suffer from computational demands and reduced image quality due to zero-order unmodulated light, leading to glare and poorly defined shapes, especially in wide and uniform illumination applications.
Innovation Solution
An illumination system that includes a spatial light modulator outputting both unmodulated and spatially-modulated light components, controlled by a control device to adjust the ratio of these components, allowing for holographic content in a light beam, thereby improving image quality and shape control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the zero-order replay field is used to form the holographic reconstruction, then the light intensity is improved, but zero-order unmodulated light causes glare and reduces image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the zero-order replay field into two distinct components: a first component corresponding to unmodulated light and a second component corresponding to spatially-modulated holographic light. By separating these components and selectively controlling them, the system can utilize the intensity of the zero-order field while eliminating the harmful glare from unmodulated light.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful zero-order unmodulated light component from the holographic reconstruction process. By taking out this problematic component while retaining the useful spatially-modulated component, the system achieves high-intensity illumination without glare or image quality degradation.
2Area of stationary object
If the holographic system provides wide and uniform illumination, then the coverage area is improved, but computational demands increase and image quality decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by selectively modulating only the second component of the zero-order replay field with holographic content, while leaving the first component unmodulated. This partial modulation approach reduces computational demands compared to full-field holographic processing, while still achieving wide and uniform illumination coverage through the unmodulated component.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the hologram is dynamically changed to control the beam, then the adaptability is improved, but the image quality and shape definition deteriorate due to noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the light output into unmodulated and spatially-modulated components, allowing independent control of each. The unmodulated first component provides a clean, noise-free foundation for beam control, while the spatially-modulated second component adds holographic content. This segmentation enables dynamic beam control without the noise-induced shape degradation that plagues conventional single-component systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enhances image quality and shape definition in the light beam by incorporating holographic content while reducing glare, addressing the computational demands and noise issues of conventional holographic systems.
Implementation Method 1
Light modulation may be achieved using electrically-addressable liquid crystals, optically-addressable liquid crystals or micro-mirrors, for example
Implementation Method 2
Light scattered from an object contains both amplitude and phase information. This amplitude and phase information can be captured on, for example, a photosensitive plate by well-known interference techniques to form a holographic recording, or 'hologram'
Implementation Method 3
the zero order replay field diffracted from the SLM
Implementation Method 4
A Fourier hologram may be considered a Fourier domain representation of the object or a frequency domain representation of the object
Data Source
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AI summary
An illumination system is arranged to output a light beam for illuminating a scene. The system comprises a spatial light modulator arranged to receive incident light, and to output light comprising a first component and a second component. The first component comprises incident light that is output without modulation by the spatial light modulator. The second component comprises incident light that is spatially-modulated according to a hologram and output by the spatial light modulator. A control device is operable to control the proportion of light output by the spatial light modulator that corresponds to the second component.