University of Washington

Magic Leap, Inc.

Microvision, Inc.

Other

All Optical Networks, Inc.

Dot on, Inc.

Charles David Melville

Richard Stephen Johnston

Brian T Schowengerdt

Mathew David Watson

Joel Steven Kollin

Michael R Tidwell

Eric J Seibel

Cameron M Lee

Samuel Scott Frank

Timothy Mark Dalrymple

William A Lee

Andrew C Duenner

Michael Robert Johnson

Xiaoyang Zhang

William K Jones, Jr

Albert Daniel Carlomagno

Abhijith Rajiv

Steven Alexander-Boyd Hickman

Thomas Adrian Furness, Iii

Vaibhav Mathur

Aaron Mark Schuelke

Alejandro Lopez

Sarah Colline McQuaide

Benjamin John Kuehn

David B Kaye

An-Shyang Chu

Clarence T Tegreene

John R Lewis

Quinn Y J Smithwick

Leonard Y Nelson

Clark C Guest

Laura Cristina Trutoiu

Mathew D Watson

Arkady S Bablumyan

John A Myers

Keith Lane Behrman

Joel Berg

Michael H Myers

Juan C Riley

Steven S Hubbard

Scott Frank

Liang Zhang

Aaron Shuelke

An eye tracking system includes a pair of glasses including two frames, a projector coupled to the pair of glasses and operable to project a beam of light, and an eyepiece mounted in one of the two frames and optically coupled to the projector. The eyepiece is operable to direct at least a portion of the beam of light towards an eye of a user. The eye tracking system also includes one or more optical sensors coupled to at least one of the two frames of the pair of glasses and operable to detect a set of reflected signals off the eye of the user, and a processor coupled to the projector and the one or more optical sensors, wherein the processor is operable to determine an eye orientation based on the set of reflected signals.

Method and system for tracking eye movement in conjunction with a light scanning projector

A projector including a cantilever position detection system includes a chassis and an actuator mounted to the chassis. The projector also includes a cantilever light source having a longitudinal axis and mechanically coupled to the actuator. The cantilever light source is operable to transmit display light and characterization light. The projector further includes an optical assembly section operable to receive the display light and the characterization light. The optical assembly section includes a dichroic mirror operable to reflect at least a portion of the display light and transmit at least a portion of the characterization light. Moreover, the projector includes a position measurement device operable to receive the transmitted portion of the characterization light.

System for using characterization light to detect fiber position in a fiber scanning projector

A projector includes a cantilever position detection system. The projector also includes a chassis, an actuator mounted to the chassis, and a cantilever light source having a longitudinal axis and mechanically coupled to the actuator. The projector also includes a position measurement region including an aperture, wherein the cantilever light source extends through the aperture, and a plurality of optical source/photodetector pairs disposed in a lateral plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.

Method and system for detecting fiber position in a fiber scanning projector

An optical scanner includes a cantilevered optical member protruding from the base portion and a transducer assembly comprising one or more piezoelectric actuators coupled to the cantilevered optical member and configured to induce motion of the cantilevered optical member in a scan pattern. In some cases, the cantilevered optical member has a tapered shape with a distal end narrower than a proximal end adjacent to the base portion of the optical scanner. In some cases, the cantilevered optical member has an elongated width along a first plane and includes a plurality of waveguides. The transducer assembly is configured to induce motion of the cantilevered optical member in a second plane orthogonal to the first plane.

Hybrid optical fiber MEMS scanner

A display assembly suitable for use with a virtual or augmented reality headset is described and includes the following: an input coupling grating; a scanning mirror configured to rotate about two or more different axes of rotation; an optical element; and optical fibers, each of which have a light emitting end disposed between the input coupling grating and the scanning mirror and oriented such that light emitted from the light emitting end is refracted through at least a portion of the optical element, reflected off the scanning mirror, refracted back through the optical element and into the input coupling grating. The scanning mirror can be built upon a MEMS type architecture.

Projection system with collimating scanning mirror

A fiber scanning projector includes a piezoelectric element and a scanning fiber passing through and mechanically coupled to the piezoelectric element. The scanning fiber emits light propagating along an optical path. The fiber scanning projector also includes a first polarization sensitive reflector disposed along and perpendicular to the optical path, a quarter wave plate disposed adjacent the first polarization sensitive reflector, and a second polarization sensitive reflector disposed along and perpendicular to the optical path.

Method and system for fiber scanning projector

A semiconductor substrate includes a first semiconductor layer, a first dielectric layer coupled to the first semiconductor layer, and a second semiconductor layer coupled to the first dielectric layer. The second semiconductor layer includes a base portion substantially aligned with the first dielectric layer and a cantilever portion protruding from an end of the first dielectric layer. The cantilever portion includes a tapered surface tapering from a bottom surface of the second semiconductor layer toward a top surface of the second semiconductor layer.

Method and system for scanning MEMS cantilevers

An optical scanner is described and includes an optical beam assembly and a transducer. The optical beam assembly includes a pivoting portion having a cantilevered beam; a stationary portion; a first torsional flexure coupling a first side of the pivoting portion to the stationary portion; and a second torsional flexure coupling a second side of the pivoting portion to the stationary portion. The transducer includes a first magnetic element disposed on the pivoting portion and a second magnetic element disposed on the stationary portion. The first and second magnetic elements are configured to generate magnetic fields that interact to rotate the pivoting portion relative to the stationary portion about an axis defined by the first and second torsional flexures.

Raster scanned projector with microelectromechanical system scanner

An eye tracking system includes a pair of glasses including two frames; a light scanning projector coupled to the pair of glasses and operable to scan a beam of light to project an image frame including a plurality of pixels; an eyepiece mounted in one of the two frames and optically coupled to the light scanning projector; one or more photodetectors coupled to one of the two frames and operable to detect time-varying reflected signals; and a processor coupled to the light scanning projector and the photodetectors. The eyepiece includes an exit pupil expander operable to direct a portion of the beam of light towards an eye of a user. Each of the time-varying reflected signals is associated with the plurality of pixels. The processor is operable to correlate the time-varying reflected signals with the plurality of pixels and determine a first eye orientation.

A method for fabricating a cantilever having a device surface, a tapered surface, and an end region includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side opposite to the first side and etching a predetermined portion of the second side to form a plurality of recesses in the second side. Each of the plurality of recesses comprises an etch termination surface. The method also includes anisotropically etching the etch termination surface to form the tapered surface of the cantilever and etching a predetermined portion of the device surface to release the end region of the cantilever.

Described herein are embodiments of fiber scanning systems and methods of scanning optical fibers. The disclosed systems and methods advantageously provide an improvement to the scanning range, the oscillation amplitude, and/or the maximum pointing angle for an optical fiber in a fiber scanning system by inducing a buckling of a portion of the optical fiber.

Buckling mode actuation of fiber scanner to increase field of view

Embodiments of optical scanners, optical projection systems, and methods of scanning optical waveguides and projecting images are described. The disclosed devices, systems and methods advantageously provide an improvement to the compactness, robustness, simplicity, and reliability of optical scanners and optical projection systems by implementing a thermally driven actuator for inducing oscillations of a cantilever within the optical scanners and optical projection systems. The stability and accuracy of optical scanners and optical projection systems are further enhanced using capacitive sensing, feedback, and phase correction techniques described herein.

Thermally actuated cantilevered beam optical scanner

A method of fabricating a multi-element fiber scanner includes providing a fiber optic cable having a cladding region and a fiber core and focusing a laser beam at a series of predetermined locations inside the cladding region of the fiber optic cable. The method also includes creating a plurality of damage sites at the predetermined locations, exposing the fiber optic cable to an etchant solution, and preferentially etching the plurality of damage sites to form a base having a base plane and a longitudinal axis orthogonal to the base plane, a retention collar disposed a predetermined distance along the longitudinal axis from the base, a first fiber link including the fiber core, passing through the base plane, and joined to the retention collar, and a plurality of additional links joined to the base, extending from the base to the retention collar, and joined to the retention collar.

Methods and systems for multi-element linkage for fiber scanning display having unified construction formed by etching

A waveguide display system may include an eyepiece waveguide that can have a first surface and a second surface, the waveguide including an incoupling diffractive optical element (DOE) and an outcoupling DOE. The waveguide display system may include a light source and a scanning mirror, and may include reflective and collimating optical elements. The incoupling DOE can be configured to selectively propagate incident light beams to the outcoupling DOE in the waveguide through total internal reflection (TIR).

Projector integrated with a scanning mirror

A fiber optic element of a fiber scanning system includes a motion actuator having longitudinal side members, an internal orifice, a first support region, a central region, and a second support region. The fiber optic element also includes a first fiber optic cable passing through the internal orifice and having a first fiber joint as well as a second fiber optic cable passing through the internal orifice. The second fiber optic cable has a second fiber joint disposed in the central region and spliced to the first fiber joint, a second coupling region, a light delivery region, and a light emission tip. The light delivery region is characterized by a first diameter and the light emission tip is characterized by a second diameter less than the first diameter.

Methods and systems for fabrication of shaped fiber elements for scanning fiber displays

Growing community of inventors

Issaquah, WA, United States of America

Charles David Melville