Until now, 3D holograms based on phase-shifting holography could be captured only using a large specialised camera with a polarising filter.
However, the new technology developed by scientists at KIST and Yonsei University allows holograms to be captured on portable devices, such as smartphones. This involved using 2D semiconductor materials to develop a photodiode that detects the polarisation of light in the near-infrared (NIR) region without additional polarisation filters.
Photodiodes, which convert light into electrical signals, are essential components within the pixels of image sensors in all digital cameras. Introducing the ability to sense the polarisation of light on the image sensor of an ordinary camera provides a variety of new information, enabling the storage of 3D holograms.
Previous polarisation-sensing cameras have an additional polarisation filter of several hundred μm in size, attached to an ultra-small optical diode image sensor less...