Holographic display having a wide viewing zone using a MEMS SLM without pixel pitch reduction

A one-micron pixel pitch is believed to be required for spatial light modulators (SLMs) to realize holographic displays possessing a wide viewing zone. This study proposes the use of a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) SLM for not only displaying holographic patterns but also scanning laser beam. During the rotation of MEMS mirrors in the MEMS SLM, the timing of laser pulses illuminating the MEMS SLM is controlled to change the reflection direction of light modulated by the MEMS SLM in order to enlarge the viewing zone. In this technique, the width of the viewing zone depends on the rotation angle of MEMS mirrors, and not on the pitch of pixels (MEMS mirrors). We experimentally demonstrated the enlargement of the viewing zone angle to ∼40° using the MEMS SLM with a pixel pitch of 13.68 µm.