See-through reflective optical elements with embedded wavelike films.

The recently proposed optical elements containing semitransparent wavelike films embedded into the transparent material are investigated. Such optical elements do not distort a wave transmitted through them. Novel optical elements can be fabricated using well-known embossing methods. Their possible applications are discussed. The optical elements containing holographic wavelike films can be used for color holography, for augmented reality wearable glasses, as a beam combiner for head-up displays. The optical elements containing diffuse wavelike films can be used as an alternative for tinted car windows, instead of mirror-glass windows in high-rise buildings, for shop-windows, for one-way privacy windows, for printing images on eyeglasses. The scheme of a waveguide display with a single-layer holographic wavelike films is analyzed. The feasibility of the proposed applications is verified by estimation of the optical elements’ parameters and computer simulation, and measurements conducted on an experimental specimen.

Color Holography for the Documentation and Dissemination of Cultural Heritage: OptoClonesTM from Four Museums in Two Countries.

True-color holograms, as they are the most advanced and realistic three-dimensional images obtainable with current technologies, can become valuable tools for the preservation, documentation and diffusion of cultural heritage. In this respect, the transportable Z3RGB color holography system and the HoLoFoS™ illuminant developed by the Hellenic Institute of Holography have been successfully utilized for the in-situ recording and displaying of OptoClones™ (Denisyuk-type color holograms) in four museums and two countries. The holographic image of an OptoClone™ is characterized by a wide angle of view, full parallax and perspective, good color rendition and ultra-realistic reproduction of the optical properties of the materials of an artefact. In this paper, we report on our accumulated expertise in on-site holographic documentation of museum artworks of various types, already from four museums of world caliber and reputation (Athens and Thessaloniki Byzantine, Fabergé Museum of St. Petersburg and Diamond Fund of Russia). In one case, a world’s first, the in-situ recorded OptoClones™ have been subsequently displayed as part of the permanent exhibition of the Byzantine & Christian Museum of Athens in replacement of the original artifacts while on loan. On another occasion involving State Treasures from the Diamond Fund of Russia, the recorded OptoClones™ exhibited inside the Moscow Kremlin were highly appraised by officials and international experts as well as the general public allowing reasonable optimism for the prospects of Display Holography for museums.