Dynamic holographic projection using large-scale integrated silicon photonic optical phased arrays

Conventional digital holographic displays are constrained by the micrometer-scale pixel size of spatial light modulators, leading to limited field of view, low refresh rates, and bulky form factors. Silicon-based optical phased arrays, with a subwavelength pixel pitch, CMOS compatibility, and nanosecond-scale phase modulation, offer a promising alternative. However, prior work has largely emphasized single-point beam scanning, with insufficient system-level analysis of large-scale arrays for complex holography. We propose and simulate a dynamic holographic projection scheme using a large-scale silicon optical phased array chip. A directive grating antenna element is designed and characterized via finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, achieving 8.7 dBi directivity and 72% upward efficiency. A far-field model of a 128×128 array integrates element radiation with array factors, enabling accurate device-level characterization. A weighted Gerchberg–Saxton algorithm tailored to this architecture retrieves element phase distributions from target images. Simulations demonstrate successful two-dimensional holographic reconstruction of preset target intensity patterns with 15.6 dB SNR. The effects of array size (32×32 to 256×256) and phase control errors (0–π/8) on resolution and fidelity are analyzed. Comparison between ideal point-source and actual antenna models reveals a ∼23% reduction in reconstruction uniformity, mitigated by a precompensation algorithm. These results provide theoretical and design guidance for chip-level holographic displays with large field of view and ultrafast operation.