Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC

Miaomiao Xu

Brian M Wheelwright

Ying Geng

Sihui He

Jacques Gollier

Fenglin Peng

Maxwell Parsons

Babak Amirsolaimani

Weichuan Gao

Yu Shi

Renate Eva Klementine Landig

Dianmin Lin

Yang Yang

Changwon Jang

Daniel Guenther Greif

A waveguide for conveying image light in a display device is disclosed. The waveguide comprises a waveguide body, an input coupler configured to couple the image light into the waveguide body for propagating the image light within the waveguide body along a zigzag light path, and a plurality of slanted bulk mirrors disposed along the zigzag light path within the waveguide body and having a tunable reflectivity parameter for controlling a spatial distribution of image light portions out-coupled from the waveguide body by the plurality of slanted bulk mirrors. The waveguide may include a plurality of slanted polarization-selective bulk mirrors, and a liquid crystal layer configured to alter the polarization of the image light, the liquid crystal layer being disposed between a backplane electrode and a pixelated electrode configured to control the liquid crystal layer by application of a spatially-varying voltage profile.

Waveguide with tunable bulk reflectors

An illuminator for illuminating a display panel includes a lightguide with an array of buried slanted bulk reflectors that out-couple portions of the light beam propagating in the lightguide through one of the lightguide surfaces. Polarization beam-splitting slanted surfaces may be used to provide polarized output. Such an illuminator may be used with a reflective display panel operating by polarization. The beam-splitting slanted surfaces operate as a polarizer, providing polarized illuminating light. The light reflected by the reflective panel may propagate back through the illuminator, and the polarization beam-splitting slanted surfaces may operate also as analyzer.

Geometrical waveguide illuminator and display based thereon

A waveguide is provided. The waveguide includes a substrate having two outer surfaces for propagating a beam of light in the substrate by reflecting the beam from the two outer surfaces. The waveguide includes at least one polarization volume hologram (PVH) grating to couple light in and/or out of the waveguide. The PVH grating may be a multi-layer PVH grating with graded birefringence.

Waveguide with polarization volume hologram grating

A head-mounted display (HMD) for improved field of view (FOV) is provided. The head-mounted display (HMD) may include a display element to provide display light. The head-mounted display (HMD) may also include a lens element to provide display light to a user of the head-mounted display (HMD). The head-mounted display (HMD) may further include an optical element comprising at least one waveguide to provide improved central or peripheral field of view (FOV) for the user of head-mounted display (HMD). In some examples, the waveguide may be part of central optics and/or peripheral optics. The waveguide may have a planar waveguide profile or a curved waveguide profile. In some examples, the waveguide may be stacked or may include a graded index (GRIN) layer.

Waveguide configurations in a head-mounted display (HMD) for improved field of view (FOV)

A device includes an array of light emitters configured to generate multiple light beams to form an image, the image having a field of view and a planar waveguide having an edge configured to receive multiple light beams from the array of light emitters, each light beam associated with a portion of the field of view. The device also includes a lens array comprising multiple lenses linearly extended to overlap an edge portion of the planar waveguide, the lenses optically coupling the light beams into the planar waveguide, and one or more output couplers in the planar waveguide configured to direct the light beams into an eyebox, wherein the eyebox forms an area that includes a pupil of a viewer of the image.

Light guide combiner with increased field of view (FOV) and eyebox efficiency for enhanced reality applications

A display device includes a relay waveguide and a scanner. The scanner is configured to angularly scan image light for coupling into the waveguide, and includes a scanning reflector and a second reflector disposed between the scanning reflector and an input coupler of the waveguide. The scanning reflector has an aperture for the image light to propagate therethrough toward the second reflector. The second reflector is configured to reflect at least a portion of the image light received through the aperture back toward the scanning reflector and to transmit at least a portion of the image light reflected from the scanning reflector toward the input coupler. The arrangement enables a compact design of the display.

Growing community of inventors

Redmond, WA, United States of America

Miaomiao Xu