Polygon-based computer-generated holography: a review of fundamentals and recent progress [Invited]

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Computer Graphics
• Computational Imaging

Background:

• Polygon-based computer-generated holography (CGH) is crucial for realistic 3D display.
• Classical methods, like FFT-based and analytical, form the foundation for modern techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide tutorials on traditional CGH methods.
• To review recent advancements in polygon-based CGH.
• To introduce a novel, efficient CGH reconstruction method.

Main Methods:

• Tutorials on traditional fast-Fourier-transform-based and analytical polygon-based CGH.
• Comparative analysis of selective modern CGH methods.
• Development and application of a fast 3D affine transformation method for CGH.

Main Results:

• Numerical reconstruction of a 49,272-polygon 3D face model using the fast 3D affine method without GPUs.
• Optical reconstructions of the face CGH and a Stanford bunny CGH (59,996 polygons).
• Demonstration of state-of-the-art numerical results in polygon-based CGH.

Conclusions:

• The fast 3D affine transformation method offers efficient and high-quality CGH reconstruction.
• Polygon-based CGH techniques continue to advance, enabling complex 3D scene rendering.
• This review provides foundational knowledge and insights for future CGH research.