Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC

Facebook Technologies, LLC

Gang Li

Lu Lu

Mengfei Wang

Ying Geng

Babak Amirsolaimani

Andrew John Ouderkirk

Andrew Maimone

Wanli Chi

Brian M Wheelwright

Barry David Silverstein

Weichuan Gao

Changwon Jang

Jacques Gollier

Yusufu Njoni Bamaxam Sulai

Scott Charles McEldowney

Pasi Saarikko

Giuseppe Calafiore

Wai Sze Tiffany Lam

Hee Yoon Lee

Stephan Lutgen

Maxwell Parsons

Ningfeng Huang

Alexander Koshelev

Gregory Olegovic Andreev

Afsoon Jamali

Adrian Travis

David Massoubre

Yunqi Li

Seungjae Lee

Douglas Robert Lanman

Erik Shipton

Yang Zhao

Yingfei Jiang

Francois Gerard Franck Olivier

Francois Olivier

Robin Sharma

Qi Zhang

Fenglin Peng

Karol Constantine Hatzilias

Oleg Yaroshchuk

Alireza Moheghi

Hao Yu

Robert Konrad

Mengfi Wang

Giseung Bang

A display device includes a display module for providing first image light. The display device also includes a first optical element for receiving and transmitting the first image light from the display module. The display module includes a region from which the first image light is provided in directions other than a direction perpendicular to the first optical element. The display device further includes a second optical element so that the second optical element receives the first image light transmitted through the first optical element and sends the received first image light back toward the first optical element as second image light. The first optical element receives the second image light from the second optical element and sends the second image light back toward the second optical element, and the second optical element receives and transmits the second image light from the first optical element.

High efficiency optical assembly with folded optical path

An optical diffuser includes optically anisotropic molecules arranged in a predefined configuration such that the optical diffuser diffuses first light having a first polarization and transmits second light having a second polarization that is different from the first polarization upon receiving the second light. In addition to polarization selectivity, the optical diffuser may also exhibit wavelength selectivity and/or incident angle selectivity. A method of diffusing light using the optical diffuser and a method of making the optical diffuser are also disclosed.

Polarization sensitive optical diffuser

A display device includes an optical diffuser configured to, in response to receiving image light, output diffused image light having a same polarization as the image light. The optical diffuser is also configured to transmit ambient light. The display device also includes an optical assembly that includes a substrate, a reflector coupled to the substrate, and a beam splitter coupled to the substrate. The optical assembly is configured to transmit the diffused image light at a first optical power by reflecting the diffused image light at the reflector and at the beam splitter and to transmit the transmitted ambient light at a second optical power that is less than the first optical power without reflection at the reflector or the beam splitter. A method for transmitting light through the display device is also disclosed.

Display device with holographic diffuser display and see-through lens assembly

A waveguide assembly is provided. The waveguide assembly includes a pair of pupil-replicating waveguides. The first pupil-replicating waveguide is configured for receiving an input beam of image light and providing an intermediate beam comprising multiple offset portions of the input beam. The second pupil-replicating waveguide is configured for receiving the intermediate beam from the first pupil-replicating waveguide and providing an output beam comprising multiple offset portions of the intermediate beam. The input beam may be expanded by the waveguide assembly in such a manner that pupil gaps are reduced or eliminated.

Cascaded pupil-replicating waveguides

A device for illuminating a spatial light modulator includes a light source and an optical element. The light source is configured to provide illumination light. The optical element has a first surface, a second surface that is distinct from and non-parallel to the first surface, and a third surface that is distinct from and non-parallel to the first surface and the second surface. The optical element is configured to receive the illumination light at the first surface, propagate the illumination light via total internal reflection, and output the illumination light from the third surface. Also disclosed is a method performed by the device.

Display illumination using a wedge waveguide

Various embodiments set forth a foveated display system and components thereof. The foveated display system includes a peripheral display module disposed in series with a foveal display module. The peripheral display module is configured to generate low-resolution, large field of view imagery for a user's peripheral vision. The foveal display module is configured to perform foveated rendering in which high-resolution imagery is focused towards a foveal region of the user's eye gaze. The peripheral display module may include a diffuser that is disposed within a pancake lens, which is a relatively compact design. The foveal display module may include a Pancharatnam-Berry Phase grating stack that increases the steering range of a beam-steering device such that a virtual image can be steered to cover an entire field of view visible to the user's eye.

Switchable Pancharatnam-Berry phase grating stack

A display device includes an image source, a holographic relay, and a holographic image combiner in an off-axis configuration. The holographic relay may include a pair of freeform holographic reflectors relaying light of the image source to an intermediate image plane. The holographic image combiner receives and redirects the relayed light from the holographic relay, forming an image in angular domain at an eyebox of the display device, the image in angular domain corresponding to the image in linear domain generated by the image source.

Display with holographic relay and holographic image combiner

Techniques disclosed herein relate generally to eye-tracking in near-eye display systems. One example of an eye illuminator for eye-tracking includes a substrate transparent to visible light, an array of light sources immersed in the substrate and configured to emit infrared light, and a holographic optical element conformally coupled to a surface of the substrate and encapsulated by an encapsulation layer. The holographic optical element is configured to transmit the visible light and diffract the infrared light emitted by the array of light sources to the eye of a user for eye-tracking.

Holographic optical elements for eye-tracking illumination

An optical assembly includes a beam steering device and a holographic optical element. The beam steering device is switchable between different states including a first state and a second state. The beam steering device includes a first polarization-selective optical element and a first tunable optical retarder optically coupled with the first polarization-selective optical element. The holographic optical element is positioned relative to the beam steering device for receiving light from the beam steering device and projecting a first light pattern while the beam steering device is in the first state and a second light pattern distinct from the first light pattern while the beam steering device is in the second state.

Optical combiner including polarization-selective elements and switchable half-wave plates for pupil steering

Systems and method for eye tracking are provided. In some embodiments, the eye tracking system includes a light source configured to generate light and project the light toward an object in a field of view, a detector configured to receive reflected portions of the light from the field of view in order to image the object, and a combiner including a volume grating configured to direct light reflected from different points in a field of view to the light detector. The volume grating includes a plurality of portions along a first area and each of the portions comprising a unique k-vector that is dependent on a respective portion of the field of view.

Systems and methods for eye tracking with spatially varying k-vectors

Techniques disclosed herein relate to a near-eye display system. One example of an eye-tracking system includes a substrate transparent to visible light and infrared light and a reflective holographic grating conformally coupled to a surface of the substrate. The reflective holographic grating is configured to transmit the visible light and reflectively diffract infrared light in a first wavelength range for eye tracking. The refractive index modulation of the reflective holographic grating is apodized in a direction along a thickness of the reflective holographic grating to reduce optical artifacts in the visible light.

Apodized reflective optical elements for eye-tracking and optical artifact reduction

A freeform varifocal optical assembly includes at least three optical modules including a first plurality of optical elements including Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP) lenses, polarization sensitive hologram (PSH) lenses, metamaterials, or combinations thereof. The plurality of optical elements of each optical module include a property associated with a Zernike polynomial. Each of the first and the three optical modules are configurable between a plurality of optical powers. The freeform varifocal optical assembly is configurable to output a predetermined wavefront in response to an input wavefront.

Freeform varifocal optical assembly

An optical assembly includes at least one substrate that provides a first curved surface and a second surface. The optical assembly also includes a beam splitter on the first curved surface, a reflector on the second surface, and an optical retarder disposed between the beam splitter and the reflector. The optical assembly is configured to receive first light at the first curved surface and reflect the first light at the reflector and subsequently, at the beam splitter before outputting the first light from the reflector. The first light is transmitted through the optical assembly at a first optical power. The optical assembly is also configured to transmit second light at a second optical power that is less than the first optical power. The second light is transmitted through peripheral portions of the beam splitter and reflector without reflection at the reflector.

Peripheral see-through pancake lens assembly and display device with same

A display uses a projector to project an image onto a holographic diffuser. The holographic diffuser scatters light of the projected image to at least one holographic element having optical power, which forms an image in angular domain for a direct observation by a user. The holographic diffuser and the holographic optical element, such as a freeform lens or a reflector, may be disposed on a transparent substrate in which the image light propagates. The architecture that immerses a display (HOE diffuser) and the eyepiece lens into the substrate may reduce the form factor of the system compared to the VR headset architecture, while being suitable for operation in AR configuration.

Holographic diffuser display

An optical assembly includes at least one substrate that provides a first curved surface and a second surface. The optical assembly also includes a beam splitter on the first curved surface, a reflector on the second surface, and an optical retarder disposed between the beam splitter and the reflector. The optical assembly is configured to transmit the first light through the optical assembly at a first optical power. The optical assembly is also configured to transmit second light through peripheral portions of the optical assembly at a second optical power that is less than the first optical power. The first light includes light having a first polarization and wavelengths within a predetermined wavelength range. The second light includes light having wavelengths within the predetermined wavelength range and a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization, as well as light having wavelengths outside the predetermined wavelength range.

Narrow-band peripheral see-through pancake lens assembly and display device with same

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Bothell, WA, United States of America

Gang Li