Image quality improvement of random phase-free holograms by addressing the cause of ringing artifacts.

Abstract

Holographic projectors utilize holography techniques, although there are several barriers to realizing holographic projections. One such challenge is the deterioration of the hologram image quality caused by speckle noise and ringing artifacts. Several methods designed to reduce the speckle noise and ringing artifacts have been proposed. However, these methods require multiple diffraction calculations and a significant amount of computational time. In this paper, we reveal that ringing artifacts are due to object light being recorded on the edge of the hologram and that the high-frequency component of the original image leaks outside of the recording area of the hologram when the random phase-free method is used. Therefore, this study proposes an object light centering method that prevents object light from being recorded on the edge of the hologram and prevents the high-frequency component of the original image from leaking outside the recording area of the hologram, which removes the ringing artifact and extends the random phase-free method to an off-axis hologram.