2011-04-24

3D Imaging by Surface-Plasmon Holography

Holograms Powered By Quantum Effects Can Show True Color From Any Angle | Popular Science

A new type of hologram harnesses a quantum effect and uses ordinary light to make 3-D still images. Future 3-D displays based on this technology would have no need for 3-D glasses or special screens.

The technique is based on the behavior of free electrons on a metal surface, according to researchers at the RIKEN Institute in Japan.

Holography sharpens up - physicsworld.com


This tasty looking apple is an image of a new type of hologram developed in Japan that exploits tiny vibrations in metallic surface known as "surface plasmons". The image holds its rich natural colours even as the viewer changes their position, unlike many existing holograms on the market. For this reason, the researchers believe that their innovation could lead to new display technologies such as smart-phone screens that can project lifelike 3D images.
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To see the hologram, the researchers needed to illuminate the structure with white light to generate surface plasmons in the silver film. Plasmons are coherent electron oscillations that can be thought of as a quasiparticle that couples photons and electrons. By illuminating the hologram in three distinct directions, the researchers were able to generate plasmons corresponding to the red, green and blue features of the hologram.



Plasmon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of plasma oscillation. The plasmon is a quasiparticlequantization of plasma oscillations just as photons and phonons are quantizations of light and mechanical vibrations, respectively. 

Surface plasmon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Surface plasmons (SPs), are coherent electron oscillations that exist at the interface betwterface (e.g. a metal-dielectric interface, such as a metal sheet in air).

Schematic representation of an electron density wave propagating along a metal - dielectric interface. The charge density oscillations and associated electromagnetic fields are called surface plasmon-polariton waves. The exponential dependence of the electromagnetic field intensity on the distance away from the interface is shown on the right. These waves can be excited very efficiently with light in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Surface-Plasmon Holography with White-Light Illumination - forex world | forex world

Surface plasmon hologram and its color reconstruction with white-light illumination. (A) The SPP hologram is illuminated by white light at a given angle ? in high-index medium. Surface plasmons of a selected color are excited and diffracted by the SPP hologram to reconstruct the wavefront of the object. (B) Dispersion curve of the SPP hologram in reconstruction as a function of the incident angle of white light. The 3D images of red, green, and blue cranes made of paper are obtained at different angles with white-light illumination. This curve was obtained through calculations based on Fresnel’s equations. (C) Reconstruction of a color object through SPP hologram. The hologram is illuminated simultaneously with a white light in three directions at different angles  for each.

One Per Cent: Quantum effect fuels colour-fast holograms



"Currently 3D TV receivers, 3D games machines and 3D movie theatre screens create an illusion using left and right eye images reconstructed by the brain," says Kawata. "We are creating an optical field in 3D from the actual object in natural colour - there is no illusion."

He hopes their technique will feed into research on new ways to make glasses-free 3D moving picture screens, as well as making holograms look more realistic.

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