Operating system

Optics

Physics

Computer graphics (images)

Stereo display

Stereoscopy

Liquid-crystal display

Field of view

Artificial intelligence

Parallax

Display device

Holography

Viewing angle

Scale (ratio)

Computer vision

Autostereoscopy

Computer science

Quantum mechanics

Holographic display

Light Science & Applications

Glasses-free three-dimensional (3D) displays are one of the game-changing technologies that will redefine the display industry in portable electronic devices. However, because of the limited resolution in state-of-the-art display panels, current 3D displays suffer from a critical trade-off among the spatial resolution, angular resolution, and viewing angle. Inspired by the so-called spatially variant resolution imaging found in vertebrate eyes, we propose 3D display with spatially variant information density. Stereoscopic experiences with smooth motion parallax are maintained at the central view, while the viewing angle is enlarged at the periphery view. It is enabled by a large-scale 2D-metagrating complex to manipulate dot/linear/rectangular hybrid shaped views. Furthermore, a video rate full-color 3D display with an unprecedented 160° horizontal viewing angle is demonstrated. With thin and light form factors, the proposed 3D system can be integrated with off-the-shelf purchased flat panels, making it promising for applications in portable electronics.

Foveated glasses-free 3D display with ultrawide field of view via a large-scale 2D-metagrating complex