Fast two-step layer-based method for computer generated hologram using sub-sparse 2D fast Fourier transform.

Fast two-step layer-based and sub-sparse two-dimensional Fast Fourier transform (SS-2DFFT) algorithms are proposed to speed up the calculation of computer-generated holograms. In a layer-based method, each layer image may contain large areas in which the pixel values are zero considering the occlusion effect among the different depth layers. By taking advantage of this feature, the two-step layer-based algorithm only calculates the non-zero image areas of each layer. In addition, the SS-2DFFT method implements two one-dimensional fast Fourier transforms (1DFFT) to compute a 2DFFT without calculating the rows or columns in which the image pixels are all zero. Since the size of the active calculation is reduced, the computational speed is considerably improved. Numerical simulations and optical experiments are performed to confirm these methods. The results show that the total computational time can be reduced by 5 times for a three-dimensional (3D) object of a train, 3.4 times for a 3D object of a castle and 10 times for a 3D object of a statue head when compared with a conventional layer-based method if combining the two proposed methods together.