Abstract

We developed a holographic see-through display enabling the user to see documents through the display plane. People working at personal computers must often take their eyes away from the display to refer to documents. Too much switching back and forth tires the person and is inefficient. In the system we have developed, an image created by a small virtual display is enlarged and projected on a reflection hologram by lenses. Light, having a wavelength width of ~30 nm, is reflected toward the eyes of the person using the display. Documents are illuminated by ambient light and can be seen through the hologram. Therefore, the enlarged virtual image is superimposed on any documents put behind the reflection hologram. Our implementation differs from a conventional HUD in that the image is displayed on a reflection hologram located at the distance of distinct vision. The large thin screen displays a bright image, free of chromatic aberration, created by projection lenses. The screen has a controllable viewing area.

© 1991 Optical Society of America