Magic Leap, Inc.

Molecular Imprints, Inc.

Chieh Chang

Sharad D Bhagat

Christophe Peroz

Ling Li

Roy Matthew Patterson

Charles Scott Carden

Michael Anthony Klug

Brian George Hill

Ryan Jason Ong

Samarth Bhargava

Matthew S Shafran

Victor Kai Liu

David Carl Jurbergs

Chulwoo Oh

Jason Donald Mareno

Satish Sadam

Melanie Maputol West

Ali Karbasi

Frank Y Xu

Vikramjit Singh

Michael Nevin Miller

Shuqiang Yang

Mauro Melli

Christopher John Fleckenstein

Xiaopei Deng

Mohammadreza Khorasaninejad

Kangkang Wang

Jeremy Lee Sevier

In an example method of forming a waveguide part having a predetermined shape, a photocurable material is dispensed into a space between a first mold portion and a second mold portion opposite the first mold portion. A relative separation between a surface of the first mold portion with respect to a surface of the second mold portion opposing the surface of the first mold portion is adjusted to fill the space between the first and second mold portions. The photocurable material in the space is irradiated with radiation suitable for photocuring the photocurable material to form a cured waveguide film so that different portions of the cured waveguide film have different rigidity. The cured waveguide film is separated from the first and second mold portions. The waveguide part is singulated from the cured waveguide film. The waveguide part corresponds to portions of the cured waveguide film having a higher rigidity than other portions of the cured waveguide film.

Methods and apparatuses for casting polymer products

A method of operating a dynamic eyepiece in an augmented reality headset includes producing first virtual content associated with a first depth plane, coupling the first virtual content into the dynamic eyepiece, and projecting the first virtual content through one or more waveguide layers of the dynamic eyepiece to an eye of a viewer. The one or more waveguide layers are characterized by a first surface profile. The method also includes modifying the one or more waveguide layers to be characterized by a second surface profile different from the first surface profile, producing second virtual content associated with a second depth plane, coupling the second virtual content into the dynamic eyepiece, and projecting the second virtual content through the one or more waveguide layers of the dynamic eyepiece to the eye of the viewer.

Methods and systems for augmented reality display with dynamic field of view

In some embodiments, a head-mounted augmented reality display system comprises one or more hybrid waveguides configured to display images by directing modulated light containing image information into the eyes of a viewer. Each hybrid waveguide is formed of two or more layers of different materials. The thicker of the layers is a highly optically transparent 'core' layer, and the thinner layer comprises a pattern of protrusions and indentations to form, e.g., a diffractive optical element. The pattern may be formed by imprinting. The hybrid waveguide may include additional layers, e.g., forming a plurality of alternating core layers and thinner patterned layers. Multiple waveguides may be stacked to form an integrated eyepiece, with each waveguide configured to receive and output light of a different component color.

Hybrid polymer waveguide and methods for making the same

A diffractive waveguide stack includes first, second, and third diffractive waveguides for guiding light in first, second, and third visible wavelength ranges, respectively. The first diffractive waveguide includes a first material having first refractive index at a selected wavelength and a first target refractive index at a midpoint of the first visible wavelength range. The second diffractive waveguide includes a second material having a second refractive index at the selected wavelength and a second target refractive index at a midpoint of the second visible wavelength range. The third diffractive waveguide includes a third material having a third refractive index at the selected wavelength and a third target refractive index at a midpoint of the third visible wavelength range. A difference between any two of the first target refractive index, the second target refractive index, and the third target refractive index is less than 0.005 at the selected wavelength.

Customized polymer/glass diffractive waveguide stacks for augmented reality/mixed reality applications

A method, includes providing a wafer including a first surface grating extending over a first area of a surface of the wafer and a second surface grating extending over a second area of the surface of the wafer; de-functionalizing a portion of the surface grating in at least one of the first surface grating area and the second surface grating area; and singulating an eyepiece from the wafer, the eyepiece including a portion of the first surface grating area and a portion of the second surface grating area. The first surface grating in the eyepiece corresponds to an input coupling grating for a head-mounted display and the second surface grating corresponds to a pupil expander grating for the head-mounted display.

Eyepiece for head-mounted display and method for making the same

A method of aligning a stencil to an eyepiece wafer includes providing the stencil, positioning the stencil with respect to a first light source, and determining locations of at least two stencil apertures. The method also includes providing the eyepiece wafer. The eyepiece wafer includes at least two eyepiece waveguides, each eyepiece waveguide including an incoupling grating and a corresponding diffraction pattern. The method further includes directing light from one or more second light sources to impinge on each of the corresponding diffraction patterns, imaging light diffracted from each incoupling grating, determining at least two incoupling grating locations, determining offsets between corresponding stencil aperture locations and incoupling grating locations, and aligning the stencil to the eyepiece wafer based on the determined offsets.

Polymer patterned disk stack manufacturing

An example system for molding a photocurable material into a planar object includes a first mold structure having a first mold surface, a second mold structure having a second mold surface, and one or more protrusions disposed along at least one of the first mold surface or the second mold surface. During operation, the system is configured to position the first and second mold structures such that the first and second mold surfaces face each other with the one or more protrusions contacting the opposite mold surface, and a volume having a total thickness variation (TTV) of 500 nm or less is defined between the first and second mold surfaces. The system is further configured to receive the photocurable material in the volume, and direct radiation at the one or more wavelengths into the volume.

Color-selective waveguides, methods for fabricating color-selective waveguides, and augmented reality (AR)/mixed reality (MR) applications including color-selective waveguides are described. The color-selective waveguides can advantageously reduce or block stray light entering a waveguide (e.g., red, green, or blue waveguide), thereby reducing or eliminating back-reflection or back-scattering into the eyepiece.

Color-selective waveguides for augmented reality/mixed reality applications

In some embodiments, a head-mounted, near-eye display system comprises a stack of waveguides having integral spacers separating the waveguides. The waveguides may each include diffractive optical elements that are formed simultaneously with the spacers by imprinting. The spacers are disposed on one major surface of each of the waveguides and indentations are provided on an opposite major surface of each of the waveguides. The indentations are sized and positioned to align with the spacers, thereby forming a self-aligned stack of waveguides. Tops of the spacers may be provided with light scattering features, anti-reflective coatings, and/or light absorbing adhesive to prevent light leakage between the waveguides. As seen in a top-down view, the spacers may be elongated along the same axis as the diffractive optical elements. The waveguides may include structures (e.g., layers of light absorbing materials, rough surfaces, light out-coupling optical elements, and/or light trapping microstructures) along their edges to mitigate reflections and improve the display contrast.

Waveguides having integrated spacers, waveguides having edge absorbers, and methods for making the same

Methods are disclosed for fabricating molds for forming eyepieces having waveguides with integrated spacers. The molds are formed by etching deep holes (e.g., 5 &#x3bc;m to 1000 &#x3bc;m deep) into a substrate using a wet etch or dry etch. The etch masks for defining the holes may be formed with a thick metal layer and/or multiple layers of different metals. A resist layer may be disposed over the etch mask. The resist layer may be patterned to form a pattern of holes, the pattern may be transferred to the etch mask, and the etch mask may be used to transfer the pattern into the underlying substrate. The patterned substrate may be utilized as a mold onto which a flowable polymer may be introduced and allowed to harden. Hardened polymer in the holes may form integrated spacers. The hardened polymer may be removed from the mold to form a waveguide with integrated spacers.

Method of fabricating molds for forming eyepieces with integrated spacers

A head-mounted, near-eye display system comprises a stack of waveguides having integral spacers separating the waveguides. The waveguides may each include diffractive optical elements that are formed simultaneously with the spacers by imprinting or casting. The spacers are disposed on one or more major surfaces of the waveguides and define a distance between immediately adjacent waveguides. Adjacent waveguides may be bonded using adhesives on the spacers. The spacers may fit within indentations of overlying waveguides. In some cases, the spacers may form one or more walls of material substantially around a perimeter of an associated waveguide. Vent holes may be provided in the walls to allow gas flow into and out from an interior volume defined by the spacers. Debris trapping structures may be provided between two walls of spacers to trap and prevent debris from entering into the interior volume.

Waveguides having integral spacers and related systems and methods

In an example method of forming an optical film for an eyepiece, a curable material is dispensed into a space between a first and a second mold surface. A position of the first mold surface relative to the second mold surface is measured using a plurality of sensors. Each sensor measures a respective relative distance along a respective measurement axis between a respective point on a planar portion of the first mold surface and a respective point on a planar portion of the second mold surface. The measurement axes are parallel to each other, and the points define corresponding triangles on the first and second mold surfaces, respectively. The position of the first mold surface is adjusted relative to the second mold surface based on the measured position, and the curable material is cured to form the optical film.

Methods and apparatuses for casting optical polymer films

A dynamic eyepiece for projecting an image to an eye of a viewer includes a waveguide layer having an input surface, an output surface opposing the input surface, and a periphery. The waveguide layer is configured to propagate light therein. The dynamic eyepiece also includes a mechanical structure coupled to at least a portion of the periphery of the waveguide layer. The mechanical structure is operable to apply a first mechanical force to the at least a portion of the periphery of the waveguide layer to impose a first surface profile on the output surface of the waveguide layer and apply a second mechanical force to the at least a portion of the periphery of the waveguide layer to impose a second surface profile different from the first surface profile on the output surface of the waveguide layer.

Growing community of inventors

Cedar Park, TX, United States of America

Chieh Chang