Evaluation and analysis of the viewing-zone characteristics of 1-μm-pitch ferroelectric liquid crystal pixel arrays for electro-holography.

Holographic images reconstructed by ferroelectric-liquid-crystal (FLC) pixel arrays with a pixel pitch of 1 μm show asymmetric brightness across the viewing zone under oblique illumination, i.e., the image at one edge is darker than that at the opposite edge. Mathematical calculations based on FLC grating models clarified that the brightness asymmetry becomes more pronounced for smaller pixel pitches and originates from differences in optical path length due to larger diffraction angles, which increase the geometrical path length and change the polarization state at the FLC surface. These results provide important insight into the asymmetry and are useful for designing illumination for holographic displays.