Displays
Holography poised for adoption in wearable technologies
By Dr Paul Dunn, chair of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA)
art for displays in private and gallery settings, and military optical applications through to anti-counterfeit and brand protection, all of which is represented by the IHMA. In the current high technology world, holography in the widest sense continues to evolve and innovate into further areas of application. This evolution is not confined to the technology alone, as the breadth of what is now termed ‘holography’ in the eyes of both the wider industry and the public continues to evolve too. Although areas such as 3D display and 3D projection at events are often not
T
he history of holography is filled with a wide assortment of innovative applications. These range from industrial and research applications in non- destructive testing, holographic
holographic in the true sense of the word, they extend the use of the term in public perception. However, behind the scenes there is a new
field emerging that is poised to take real holography using diffractive structures into wider penetration of industrial and consumer applications in wearable devices through the use of holographic optical elements.
HOLOGRAPHIC OPTICAL ELEMENTS Holographic optical elements (HOEs) have a long history as a route to light weight, flexible and compact optics. Head up displays are one example of an application area, initially in military fighter jet cockpits. Wearable technology applications now look set to trigger a resurgence of interest in these holographic optical elements. Whilst HOEs have been with us for some
time, they can now take on the advantages of new technologies already in use in the banknote and identity protection sectors, for two broad categories - software and hardware. One significant advance of recent years is in digital origination, now well established and developed in the use of holography in the anti- counterfeit, product and brand protection sectors. In classical holography a complex pattern is formed by interference between two wavefronts and recorded in a photosensitive material. The field of digital origination has the capacity to extend this further, computing the diffractive structure directly in software to produce hitherto unattainable optical effects from patterns written directly onto or into a material. There have also been a number of material science developments that have aided the integration of holographic elements into optical assemblies, and these looks set to continue. The anti-counterfeiting and brand protection industry has been in the forefront of the adoption of holographic elements in or on plastic substrates and new developments in waveguide optics, and methods have evolved with particular significance for the display industry. A combination of this expertise is now being adopted and adapted for head mounted wearable devices.
THE CONCEPT OF HEAD MOUNTED WEARABLES HOEs look set to emerge in a new form factor as a facilitating technology for head mounted displays for virtual, augmented and mixed reality
34 October 2022 Instrumentation Monthly
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