A wave optical algorithm for hidden-surface removal in digitally synthetic full-parallax holograms for three-dimensional objects

A novel algorithm is presented for hidden-surface removal in digitally synthetic holograms. The algorithm is able to work with full-parallax holograms and remove obstructed fields in the object wave emitted from three-dimensional (3-D) surface objects. This algorithm is initially discussed as a rigorous procedure to obtain fields behind a tilted planar surface by using the rotational transformation of wave fields, and finally results in the silhouette approximation for reduction of computation time. Reconstructions of holograms created by using the algorithm are demonstrated.