An advanced ray-tracing model for multi-color holographic optical elements

In this paper, an advanced ray-tracing model for simulating holographic optical element is programmed and demonstrated in Zemax OpticStudio. The model integrates the physical properties of the hologram, such as diffraction direction and efficiency based on incident rays' wave vector and polarization state, into the standard ray-tracing model. Two different algorithms are implemented and tested. The model also accounts for hologram emulsion shrinkage and refractive index shift. The utility of this new model is demonstrated with a case study of a multi-color holographic imaging system, where the structures of multi-color holograms are built with different methods and the full-color image simulation is performed. Results of different methods are compared and discussed.