Computational Super-Resolution Full-Parallax Three-Dimensional Light Field Display Based on Dual-Layer LCD Modulation

Due to physical limitation in resolution of display device, it is usually very difficult to achieve a high spatial resolution and a high angular resolution simultaneously for a three-dimensional (3D) light field display. Here, a computational super-resolution full-parallax 3D light field display is demonstrated, which can achieve both high spatial resolution and angular resolution. The proposed display consists of a specially designed backlight unit with controlled scattering angle, two cascadedly arranged LCDs with a resolution of 3840 × 2160, an aberration-suppressed compound lens array, and a holographic functional screen. The optical image formation processing of the display is analyzed and modeled as a whole process, and the superresolution light field synthesis method is presented. By co-designing the optical elements with computation processing, our proposed display architecture can improve the spatial resolution and angular resolution with a factor of 2× in both horizontal and vertical directions, comparing with these of the conventional light field display with single LCD and standard lens array. Finally, a super-resolution full-parallax 3D light field display with a designed spatial resolution of about 640 × 360 in a display area of 21.5 inches and an angular resolution of 166 × 166 in a viewing angle of 45 × 45 degrees is constructed, and an excellent 3D visual experience with improved image quality can be perceived.