Tipd, LLC

A9.com, Inc.

The University of Arizona

Arkady Bablumyan

Nasser N Peyghambarian

Pierre-Alexandre Jean Blanche

Lloyd J LaComb, Jr

Erfan Fard

VHOEs with expanded acceptance angle ranges are described as well as various systems and methods for fabricating VHOEs with expanded acceptance angle ranges. The VHOE with expanded acceptance angle range may include two or more individual Bragg gratings. The two or more individual Bragg gratings have the same diffraction geometry but with shifted Bragg conditions. Having the same diffraction geometry means when light is incident on the VHOE including two or more individual Bragg gratings, the diffracted light from each of the Bragg gratings is co-linear or overlapping with the diffracted light from the other Bragg gratings. The Bragg condition for each of the Bragg gratings are shifted with respect to each neighboring Bragg grating by an amount up to the acceptance angle range of each individual Bragg grating.

Volume holographic optical elements with expanded angular acceptance

A waveguide image combiner is used to transmit a monochrome or full-color image in an augmented reality display. The combiner uses multiple stacked waveguides, each having top and bottom substrates. The combiner also uses multiple pairs of incoupling and outcoupling VHOEs, which are sandwiched between the top and bottom substrates, to expand a first FOV and an image expander to expand the second or perpendicular FOV. This suitably provides an expanded FOV that offers a diagonal FOV&#x2265;50&#xb0;, a horizontal FOV&#x2265;40 and a vertical FOV&#x2265;25&#xb0;. The combiner also delivers a large horizontal eye box up to 20 mm and a vertical eye box of 10 mm while maintaining high light efficiency of the real scene (e.g. &#x3e;80%). The system is able to use a light engine based on broadband (10 nm&#x2264;&#x394;&#x3bb;&#x2264;40 nm) LEDs and maintain a large horizontal field of view and high transmission of the real imagery.

Waveguide image combiners for augmented reality displays

A waveguide image combiner is used to transmit a monochrome or full-color image in an augmented reality display. The combiner uses multiple stacked substrates and multiple pairs of incoupling and outcoupling VHOEs to expand a first FOV and an image expander to expand the second or perpendicular FOV. This suitably provides an expanded FOV that offers a diagonal FOV&#x2265;50&#xb0;, a horizontal FOV&#x2265;40 and a vertical FOV&#x2265;25&#xb0;. The combiner also delivers a large horizontal eye box up to 20 mm and a vertical eye box of 10 mm while maintaining high light efficiency of the real scene (e.g. &#x3e;80%). The system is able to use a light engine based on broadband (10 nm&#x2264;&#x394;&#x3bb;&#x2264;40 nm) LEDs and maintain a large horizontal field of view and high transmission of the real imagery. The approach resolves issues with current embodiments including astigmatism, image overlap, color balance, and small light engine pupils leading to reduced eye boxes.

A waveguide image combiner is used to transmit a monochrome or full-color image in an augmented reality display. The combiner uses multiple stacked substrates and multiple pairs of incoupling and outcouping VHOEs to expand a first FOV and an image expander to expand the second or perpendicular FOV. This suitably provides an expanded FOV that offers a diagonal FOV&#x2265;50&#xb0;, a horizontal FOV&#x2265;40 and a vertical FOV&#x2265;25&#xb0;. The combiner also delivers a large horizontal eye box up to 20 mm and a vertical eye box of 10 mm while maintaining high light efficiency of the real scene (e.g. &#x3e;80%). The system is able to use a light engine based on broadband (10 nm&#x2264;&#x394;&#x3bb;&#x2264;40 nm) LEDs and maintain a large horizontal field of view and high transmission of the real imagery. The approach resolves issues with current embodiments including astigmatism, image overlap, color balance, and small light engine pupils leading to reduced eye boxes.

Transmission and reflection mode VHOEs are designed and fabricated for use in imaging and other applications. These VHOE provide high diffraction efficiency with minimal chromatic aberrations and astigmatism across the bandwidth. The lens provides optical power within the bandwidth centered relative to several wavelengths to magnify (focus or collimate) input light and is transparent for the rest of the image spectrum. In transmission mode, two VHOE are fabricated in such a way as to introduce compensating adjustments that minimize the astigmatism and chromatic aberrations introduced by the bandwidth of the input light. Two VHOEs are required to provide an on-axis imaging system to magnify light to form an image and reduce the chromatic aberrations across the bandwidth and reduce the astigmatism while maintaining high diffraction efficiency (DE). In reflection mode, a single VHOE is configured to act as a mirror at the specified wavelength and bandwidth and to magnify light to form an image and, consequently, has minimal level of astigmatism and chromatic aberration.

Volume holographic optical elements for imaging with reduced aberrations

A waveguide image combiner is used to transmit a monochrome or full-color image in an augmented reality display. The combiner uses multiple pairs of overlapping incoupling and outcoupling VHOEs to expand the horizontal FOV and a Y expander to expand the vertical FOV. This suitably provides an expanded horizontal and vertical FOV that offers a diagonal FOV&#x2265;50&#xb0;, a horizontal FOV&#x2265;40 and a vertical FOV&#x2265;25&#xb0;. The combiner also delivers a large horizontal eye box up to 20 mm and a vertical eye box of 10 mm while maintaining high light efficiency of the real scene (e.g. &#x3e;80%). The system is able to use a light engine based on broadband (10 nm&#x2264;&#x394;&#x3bb;&#x2264;30 nm) LEDs and maintain a large horizontal field of view and high transmission of the real imagery. The approach resolves issues with current embodiments including astigmatism, image overlap, color balance, and small light engine pupils leading to reduced eye boxes.

Waveguide image combiner for augmented reality displays

The present invention provides systems of recording holograms that reduce the writing time, increase the diffraction efficiency, improve the resolution, or restitute color. These systems are well suited for use with an updateable 3D holographic display using integral holography and photorefractive polymer.

System for holography

A holographic direct-view display system uses holographic integral imaging techniques that is an auto stereoscopic way to reproduce parallax and occlusion. The display is not resolution limited and is scalable to display life size images if desired. The system can be used to transmit 3D depictions of a scene at video and sub-video rates as well as other information, such as images of documents or computer generated images. The images may be captured, transmitted and displayed in real-time (or near real-time) for telepresence or stored for time-shifted display. The system combines integral holography, a pulsed laser to record the hologram at high speed and a dynamic refreshable holographic material such as a photorefractive polymer as a recording media. The system uses techniques to write, read and erase the updateable hologram that allow the holographic material, hence direct-view display to remain stationary throughout each of the processes for continuous presentation of the hologram to the audience. The system may write, read and erase at the same time and continuously to increase throughput. This system may also use additional novel techniques to improve brightness, efficiently implement a full-parallax display and to implement a full-color display in a transmission geometry.

Auto stereoscopic 3D telepresence using integral holography

A system and method that synchronizes a spatial light modulator (SLM) with a pulsed laser to record a hologram at the repetition rate of the pulsed laser for applications including holographic displays and data storage. The color channel capability of a SLM is utilized to effectively increase the write throughput when the pulsed laser repetition rate LR exceeds the SLM's image refresh rate R. The hogels are encoded on the color channels and concatenated to form a sequence of color images such that the write throughput is equal to the repetition rate LR up to a maximum of N*R. This effectively extends the capability and continued viability of existing inexpensive SLMs.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Arkady Bablumyan