Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

R Andrew Wall

Steven John Robbins

Tuomas Vallius

Yarn Chee Poon

Scott Woltman

Tapani Levola

Dmitry Reshidko

Pasi Antero Kostamo

Scott Charles McEldowney

Bernard Charles Kress

Yijing Fu

Xinye Lou

Gangok Lee

Pasi Pietila

Keita Oka

Joshua A Hudman

Pasi Kostamo

The technology provides decoupling an aspheric optical element from a birdbath optical element in a near-eye display (NED) device. One or more aspheric lens are used with a spherical birdbath reflective mirror in a projection light engine of a NED device. A projection light engine provides image light (or other information), by way of the spherical birdbath reflective mirror and at least one aspheric lens, to a near-eye display of the NED device. The spherical birdbath reflective mirror collimates and reflects the image light to an exit pupil external to the projection light engine. Decoupling the aspheric optical element from the spherical birdbath reflective mirror may enable high modulation transfer function (MTF) and improved manufacturability of the projection light engine. The NED device having aspheric optical elements decoupled from a birdbath optical element may be positioned by a support structure in a head-mounted display (HMD) or head-up display (HUD).

Spherical mirror having a decoupled aspheric

A display device system includes a display engine and optical waveguide. The display engine includes an image former, that produces light corresponding to an image, and one or more lens groups that collimate the light corresponding to the image and outputs the light from the display engine. Each lens group includes one or more lenses that share a mechanical axis. The light corresponding to the image produced by the image former has an optical axis ray coincident with a principal ray of the light that originates at a center of the image produced by the image former. At least one lens group has its mechanical axis tilted relative to the optical axis ray of the light corresponding to the image produced by the image former, to prevent a ghost image from being formed by light corresponding to the image that is reflected-back from the waveguide toward the display engine.

Display device system with tilted lens group to prevent ghost images

An apparatus for use in replicating an image associated with an input-pupil to an output-pupil includes a planar optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, and also including an input-coupler, an intermediate-component and an output-coupler. The input-coupler couples light corresponding to the image into the bulk-substrate and towards the intermediate-component. The intermediate-component performs horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and directs the light corresponding to the image towards the output-coupler. The output-coupler performs the other one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and couples light corresponding to the image, which travels from the input-coupler to the output-coupler, out of the waveguide. The apparatus further includes an adjacent planar optical component to provide a more uniform intensity distribution compared to if the adjacent planar optical component were absent.

Waveguide coatings or substrates to improve intensity distributions having adjacent planar optical component separate from an input, output, or intermediate coupler

An apparatus, for use in replicating an image associated with an input-pupil to an output-pupil, comprises an optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, an input-coupler and an output-coupler. The bulk-substrate includes first and second major sides and peripheral sides. The input-coupler couples, into the waveguide, light corresponding to the image associated with the input-pupil. The output-coupler couples, out of the waveguide, light corresponding to the image that has traveled through the waveguide from the input-coupler to the output-coupler at least in part by way of TIR. At least one of the peripheral sides includes first and second surfaces that define first and second planes angled 45 degrees relative to one another. Such a peripheral side provides for effective recycling of light that would otherwise leak out of the waveguide through the peripheral side.

Waveguides with peripheral side geometries to recycle light

Examples are disclosed that relate to mixed reality display devices. One example provides a head-mounted display device comprising, a display, a lens system, and a curved Fresnel combiner. The curved Fresnel combiner is configured to direct light received from the display via the lens system toward an eyebox, and is at least partially transmissive to background light.

Mixed reality display device

An apparatus for use in replicating an image associated with an input-pupil to an output-pupil includes a planar optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, and also including an input-coupler, an intermediate-component and an output-coupler. The input-coupler couples light corresponding to the image into the bulk-substrate and towards the intermediate-component. The intermediate-component performs horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and directs the light corresponding to the image towards the output-coupler. The output-coupler performs the other one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and couples light corresponding to the image, which travels from the input-coupler to the output-coupler, out of the waveguide. The apparatus further includes a volume layer, embedded between first and second major planar surfaces of the bulk-substrate, configured to cause light that is output by the output-coupler to have a more uniform intensity distribution compared to if the volume layer were absent.

Waveguides with embedded components to improve intensity distributions

A near eye or heads up display system includes a display engine, at least two optical waveguides, and a respective coating on at least one of the major surfaces of at least one of the waveguides. At least one such coating has a low reflectance for light within a specific wavelength range for the waveguide and incident on a major surface of the waveguide on which the coating is located at an angle below a low threshold angle relative to a normal, and has a high reflectance for light within the specific wavelength range for the waveguide that is incident on the major surface on which the coating is located at an angle above a high threshold angle relative to the normal.

Waveguide-based displays with anti-reflective and highly-reflective coating

An apparatus for use in replicating an image associated with an input-pupil to an output-pupil includes a planar optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, and also including an input-coupler, an intermediate-component and an output-coupler. The input-coupler couples light corresponding to the image into the bulk-substrate and towards the intermediate-component. The intermediate-component performs horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and directs the light corresponding to the image towards the output-coupler. The output-coupler performs the other one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and couples light corresponding to the image, which travels from the input-coupler to the output-coupler, out of the waveguide. In certain embodiments, one or more of the input-coupler, the intermediate-component or the output-coupler comprises a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) based surface relief grating (SRG) or a double-side diffractive optical element (DOE), each of which can be used to improve an intensity distribution of light output by the output-coupler.

Growing community of inventors

Kirkland, WA, United States of America

R Andrew Wall