High-performance lens array optimization for light field 3D display using display-path light beam constraints

Light field three-dimensional (3D) display utilizes lens array to modulate light beams for 3D image reconstruction. Most existing lens array optimization approaches for light field 3D display rely on imaging-path lens design method, assigning the two-dimensional (2D) display panel as an imaging plane and minimizing the root mean square (RMS) spot radius to pixel or subpixel level. Since the RMS spot radius cannot be reduced to Airy disk size, lens array will exhibit defocusing when applied to light field 3D displays, causing exiting light beams to diverge, increasing voxel size, and inducing voxel overlap, thereby degrading 3D image quality. To address this issue, we present a high-performance lens array optimization method for light field 3D display using display-path light beam constraints. In this method, the 2D display panel serves as the object plane and a specific voxel plane as the image plane. Light beam constrictions are achieved by optimizing the spacing among exiting light beams to ensure a quasi-uniform distribution with the intervals of the chief rays smaller than the human pupillary distance, while simultaneously limiting beam width to reduce voxel size and minimize overlap. Experimental results illustrate that the proposed method significantly improves 3D image quality metrics, including resolution, sharpness and contrast, compared to conventional imaging-path lens design method. Furthermore, the proposed method is appropriate for both integral imaging- and super multi-view-based light field 3D displays.