Magic Leap, Inc.

Palo Alto Research Center Inc.

Molecular Imprints, Inc.

Google Inc.

Victor Kai Liu

Samarth Bhargava

Kevin Messer

Bernard D Casse

Vikramjit Singh

Armin R Volkel

Christophe Peroz

Robert Dale Tekolste

Jeffrey Dean Schmulen

Frank Y Xu

Eric C Browy

Marlon Edward Menezes

Neal Paul Ricks

David Carl Jurbergs

Brian T Schowengerdt

Robert D TeKolste

Michael Anthony Klug

William Hudson Welch

Shuqiang Yang

Kang Luo

Zongxing Wang

Brandon Michael-James Born

Michael Nevin Miller

Mathew David Watson

Sharad D Bhagat

Chieh Chang

Jason A Schaefer

George Daniel

Ling Li

Xiaopei Deng

Alexander S Tuganov

Matthew Grant Dixon

Kevin R Curtis

Chulwoo Oh

Pierre St Hilaire

Ravi Kumar Komanduri

Mauro Melli

Bradley Jay Sissom

Fahri Yaras

Jason Donald Mareno

Michal Beau Dennison Vaughn

Joseph Christopher Sawicki

Mohammadreza Khorasaninejad

Dianmin Lin

Roy Matthew Patterson

Charles Scott Carden

Evgeni Poliakov

Julie A Bert

Melanie Maputol West

Michael John Mitchell

Ryan Jason Ong

Qizhen Xue

Alexander Schoenen

David Kleinman

Kevin Richard Curtis

Hui-Fang Lai

HungYang Lee

Taw Lim

Yingnan Liu

Matthew C Traub

Mike Nevin Miller

Samarath Bhargava

Lai Hui-Fang

Lee Hung Yang

Lim Taw

Eric Browy

Robert D Tekolste

Jason Schaefer

Techniques for artifact mitigation in an optical system are disclosed. Light associated with a world object is received at the optical system, which is characterized by a world side and a user side. Light associated with a virtual image is projected onto an eyepiece of the optical system, causing a portion of the light associated with the virtual image to propagate toward the user side and light associated with an artifact image to propagate toward the world side. A dimmer of the optical system positioned between the world side and the eyepiece is adjusted to reduce an intensity of the light associated with the artifact image impinging on the dimmer and an intensity of the light associated with the world object impinging on the dimmer.

Eyepiece architecture incorporating artifact mitigation

An augmented reality device includes a projector, projector optics optically coupled to the projector, and an eyepiece optically coupled to the projector optics. The eyepiece includes an eyepiece waveguide characterized by lateral dimensions and an optical path length difference as a function of one or more of the lateral dimensions.

Method and system for variable optical thickness waveguides for augmented reality devices

A plurality of waveguide display substrates, each waveguide display substrate having a cylindrical portion having a diameter and a planar surface, a curved portion opposite the planar surface defining a nonlinear change in thickness across the substrate and having a maximum height D with respect to the cylindrical portion, and a wedge portion between the cylindrical portion and the curved portion defining a linear change in thickness across the substrate and having a maximum height W with respect to the cylindrical portion. A target maximum height Dof the curved portion is 10to 10times the diameter, D is between about 70% and about 130% of D, and W is less than about 30% of D.

Biased total thickness variations in waveguide display substrates

An eyepiece waveguide for an augmented reality display system. The eyepiece waveguide can include an input coupling grating (ICG) region. The ICG region can couple an input beam into the substrate of the eyepiece waveguide as a guided beam. A first combined pupil expander-extractor (CPE) grating region can be formed on or in a surface of the substrate. The first CPE grating region can receive the guided beam, create a first plurality of diffracted beams at a plurality of distributed locations, and out-couple a first plurality of output beams. The eyepiece waveguide can also include a second CPE grating region formed on or in the opposite surface of the substrate. The second CPE grating region can receive the guided beam, create a second plurality of diffracted beams at a plurality of distributed locations, and out-couple a second plurality of output beams.

Eyepieces for augmented reality display system

An example waveguide can include a polymer layer having substantially optically transparent material with first and second major surfaces configured such that light containing image information can propagate through the polymer layer being guided therein by reflecting from the first and second major surfaces via total internal reflection. The first surface can include first smaller and second larger surface portions monolithically integrated with the polymer layer and with each other. The first smaller surface portion can include at least a part of an in-coupling optical element configured to couple light incident on the in-coupling optical element into the polymer layer for propagation therethrough by reflection from the second major surface and the second larger surface portion of the first major surface. The waveguide can include a tilted surface portion forming at least part of an in-coupling optical element, the tilted surface portion having curvature to provide optical power.

Waveguides with integrated optical elements and methods of making the same

A method of operating an eyepiece waveguide includes directing light from a projector to impinge on an incoupling grating (ICG). The method also includes diffracting a first fraction of the light from the projector into a first portion of the eyepiece waveguide, propagating the first fraction of the light into a second portion of the eyepiece waveguide, and diffracting the first fraction of the light out of the eyepiece waveguide. The method further includes diffracting a second fraction of the light from the projector into the second portion of the eyepiece waveguide, propagating the second fraction of the light into the first portion of the eyepiece waveguide, and diffracting the second fraction out of the eyepiece waveguide.

Method and system for dual projector waveguide displays with wide field of view

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

The disclosure describes an improved drop-on-demand, controlled volume technique for dispensing resist onto a substrate, which is then imprinted to create a patterned optical device suitable for use in optical applications such as augmented reality and/or mixed reality systems. The technique enables the dispensation of drops of resist at precise locations on the substrate, with precisely controlled drop volume corresponding to an imprint template having different zones associated with different total resist volumes. Controlled drop size and placement also provides for substantially less variation in residual layer thickness across the surface of the substrate after imprinting, compared to previously available techniques. The technique employs resist having a refractive index closer to that of the substrate index, reducing optical artifacts in the device. To ensure reliable dispensing of the higher index and higher viscosity resist in smaller drop sizes, the dispensing system can continuously circulate the resist.

Surface relief waveguides with high refractive index resist

An eyepiece for an augmented reality display system. The eyepiece can include a waveguide substrate. The waveguide substrate can include an input coupler grating (ICG), an orthogonal pupil expander (OPE) grating, a spreader grating, and an exit pupil expander (EPE) grating. The ICG can couple at least one input light beam into at least a first guided light beam that propagates inside the waveguide substrate. The OPE grating can divide the first guided light beam into a plurality of parallel, spaced-apart light beams. The spreader grating can receive the light beams from the OPE grating and spread their distribution. The spreader grating can include diffractive features oriented at approximately 90° to diffractive features of the OPE grating. The EPE grating can re-direct the light beams from the first OPE grating and the first spreader grating such that they exit the waveguide substrate.

Eyepiece for virtual, augmented, or mixed reality systems

An eyepiece for use in front of an eye of a viewer includes a waveguide having a surface and a diffractive optical element (DOE) optically coupled to the waveguide. The DOE includes a plurality of first ridges protruding from the surface of the waveguide and arranged as a periodic array having a period, each respective first ridge has a first height and a respective first width. The DOE also includes a plurality of second ridges, each respective second ridge protruding from a respective first ridge and having a second height greater than the first height and a respective second width less than the respective first width. At least one of the respective first width, the respective second width, or a respective ratio between the respective first width and the respective second width varies as a function of a distance from a first edge of the DOE.

Outcoupling grating for augmented reality system

Display devices include waveguides with in-coupling optical elements that mitigate re-bounce of in-coupled light to improve overall in-coupling efficiency and/or uniformity. A waveguide receives light from a light source and/or projection optics and includes an in-coupling optical element that in-couples the received light to propagate by total internal reflection in a propagation direction within the waveguide. Once in-coupled into the waveguide the light may undergo re-bounce, in which the light reflects off a waveguide surface and, after the reflection, strikes the in-coupling optical element. Upon striking the in-coupling optical element, the light may be partially absorbed and/or out-coupled by the optical element, thereby effectively reducing the amount of in-coupled light propagating through the waveguide. The in-coupling optical element can be truncated or have reduced diffraction efficiency along the propagation direction to reduce the occurrence of light loss due to re-bounce of in-coupled light, resulting in less in-coupled light being prematurely out-coupled and/or absorbed during subsequent interactions with the in-coupling optical element.

Diffractive optical elements with mitigation of rebounce-induced light loss and related systems and methods

An eyepiece waveguide for an augmented reality display system may include an optically transmissive substrate, an input coupling grating (ICG) region, a multi-directional pupil expander (MPE) region, and an exit pupil expander (EPE) region. The ICG region may receive an input beam of light and couple the input beam into the substrate as a guided beam. The MPE region may include a plurality of diffractive features which exhibit periodicity along at least a first axis of periodicity and a second axis of periodicity. The MPE region may be positioned to receive the guided beam from the ICG region and to diffract it in a plurality of directions to create a plurality of diffracted beams. The EPE region may overlap the MPE region and may out couple one or more of the diffracted beams from the optically transmissive substrate as output beams.

A display system includes a waveguide assembly having a plurality of waveguides, each waveguide associated with an in-coupling optical element configured to in-couple light into the associated waveguide. A projector outputs light from one or more spatially-separated pupils, and at least one of the pupils outputs light of two different ranges of wavelengths. The in-coupling optical elements for two or more waveguides are inline, e.g. vertically aligned, with each other so that the in-coupling optical elements are in the path of light of the two different ranges of wavelengths. The in-coupling optical element of a first waveguide selectively in-couples light of one range of wavelengths into the waveguide, while the in-coupling optical element of a second waveguide selectively in-couples light of another range of wavelengths. Absorptive color filters are provided forward of an in-coupling optical element to limit the propagation of undesired wavelengths of light to that in-coupling optical element.

Inline in-coupling optical elements

An eyepiece for a head-mounted display includes one or more first waveguides arranged to receive light from a spatial light modulator at a first edge, guide at least some of the received light to a second edge opposite the first edge, and extract at least some of the light through a face of the one or more first waveguides between the first and second edges. The eyepiece also includes a second waveguide positioned to receive light exiting the one or more first waveguides at the second edge and guide the received light to one or more light absorbers.

Methods and apparatuses for reducing stray light emission from an eyepiece of an optical imaging system

Growing community of inventors

Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Victor Kai Liu