PLANAR HOLOGRAPHIC CONFIGURATION FOR EFFICIENT IMAGING

A planar holographic configuration that can be exploited for imaging w ith high light throughput efficiency is presented. The configuration i s comprised of two elements - a linear grating and a corrected hologra phic lens. The design and recording of the holographic lens are based on a technique, where a desired grating function, with low aberrations , is transferred from a thin hologram to one recorded in thick recordi ng materials, so the Bragg condition is fulfilled over a broad range o f incidence angles. As a result, it is possible to get a holographic l ens having low aberrations and uniform high diffraction efficiency ove r a relatively large field of view. When combined with the linear grat ing, the overall planar optics configuration can be exploited for imag ing information displayed with quasi monochromatic light source, as in a visor display application. Such a configuration was designed, recor ded and evaluated experimentally, demonstrating a uniform, and relativ ely high diffraction efficiency over a field of view of 16 degrees.