A new 3D image projection system from researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) marks a major step toward overcoming a longstanding problem for holographic technology.

Professor Aydogan Ozcan led the work reported in a recent paper published in Light Science and Applications, which describes the team’s new snapshot 3D image projection system, solving one of the technology’s most daunting issues.

“These results establish the diffractive 3D display system as a compact and scalable framework for depth-resolved snapshot 3D image projection, with potential applications in holographic displays, AR/VR interfaces, and volumetric optical computing,” the authors write.