Computational holographic bandwidth compression

A novel technique to compute holographic fringe patterns for real-time display is described. Hogel-vector holographic bandwidth compression, a diffraction-specific approach, treats a fringe as discretized in space and spatial frequency. By undersampling fringe spectra, hogel-vector encoding achieves a compression ratio of 16 with an acceptably small loss in image resolution. Hogel-vector bandwidth compression achieves interactive rates of holographic computation for real-time three-dimensional electro-holographic (holovideo) displays. Total computation time for typical three-dimensional images is reduced by a factor of over 70 to 4.0 seconds per 36-MB holographic fringe and under 1.0 seconds for a 6-MB full-color image. Analysis focuses on the trade-offs among compression ratio, image fidelity, and image depth. Hogel-vector bandwidth compression matches information content to the human visual system, achieving "visual-bandwidth holography." Holovideo may now be applied to visualization, entertainment, and information.