An optical waveguide combiner having an output coupler comprising an array of embedded partially reflective dielectric mirrors expanding and coupling a virtual, optionally color, image generated by a laser display engine into a user EMB, wherein the dielectric mirrors are configured having a wavelength band for each lasing band of the laser display engine that includes wavelengths of light in the lasing band and in a range of wavelengths over which the lasing band is expected to drift, a reflectivity angular range exhibiting a first reflectivity, a transmittance angular range exhibiting a second reflectivity less than the first reflectivity, and a see-thru angular transmittance range having high transmittance for natural light incident on the facets.

An optical system for a virtual retinal scan display. The optical system includes: a projector unit including a modulatable light source for generating at least one modulated light beam and including a movable deflection device for the light beam, a scanning projection of an image content being generatable from the at least one light beam as a result of the movement of the movable deflection device; a diverting unit, onto which the image content is projectable and which is configured to map the projected image content into an exit pupil and to guide it onto an eye of a user; an optical exit pupil shifting unit situated in an optical path of the light beam for spatially shifting the exit pupil of an eye box of the optical system in directions which extend at least essentially in parallel to an exit pupil plane of the exit pupil.

An optical system includes a light-guide optical element (LOE) (100) having a pair of parallel major external surfaces (102, 104) and a set of mutually-parallel reflector surfaces (106a, 106b, 106c) obliquely angled within the LOE. At least one of the reflector surfaces has high reflectivity for angles of incidence above 60 degrees to the normal and partial reflectivity for angles of incidence less than 35 degrees to the normal.

Provided is a waveguide-type display device including a waveguide, an input coupler provided on the waveguide and configured to transmit an image to travel into the waveguide, an output coupler provided on the waveguide and configured to output the image traveling in the waveguide to an outside of the waveguide, and a field-of-view (FOV) expander configured to output an image having an expanded FOV by deflecting and outputting the image output from the output coupler in a certain direction based on polarization characteristics of the image.

An optical system for directing image illumination injected at a coupling-in region towards a user for viewing includes a light-guide optical element (LOE) (12) with a pair of parallel major external surfaces (24). A first region (16) of the LOE contains a first set of partially-reflecting surfaces (17) oriented to redirect image illumination propagating within the LOE towards a second region of the LOE (18), which contains a second set of partially-reflecting surfaces (19) oriented to couple out the image illumination towards the user. The first set of partially-reflecting surfaces (17) extend across at least 95 percent of a thickness of the LOE, while the second set of partially-reflecting surfaces (19) are contained within a subsection of the thickness spanning less than 95 percent of the thickness, so that the second set of partially-reflecting surfaces (19) are excluded from one or both surface layers of the second region (18).

A method of fabricating a compound light-guide optical element (LOE) is provided. A bonded stack of a plurality of LOE precursors and a plurality of transparent spacer plates alternating therebetween is bonded to a first optical block having a plurality of mutually parallel obliquely angled internal surfaces. The block is joined to the stack such that first plurality of partially reflective internal surfaces of the block is non-parallel to the internal surfaces of the LOE precursor. After bonding, a second optical is thereby formed. At least one compound LOE is sliced-out of the second optical block by cutting the second block through at least two consecutive spacer plates having a LOE precursor sandwiched therebetween.

A waveguide display assembly comprises a waveguide, including an in-coupling grating configured to in-couple light of a first wavelength band emitted by a light source into the waveguide, and cause propagation of the light of the first wavelength band through the waveguide via total internal reflection. An out-coupling grating is configured to out-couple the light of the first wavelength band from the waveguide and toward a user eye. One or more diffractive gratings are disposed along an optical path between the in-coupling grating and the out-coupling grating, the one or more diffractive gratings configured to diffract light outside the first wavelength band out of the waveguide and away from the user eye.

A waveguide display for use in a near-eye display system includes a waveguide stack having at least one waveguide substrate, an input coupler coupling light into the waveguide substrate and an optical arrangement that includes a birefringent reflective polarizer, a mirror and a polarization state converting element configured to convert light in a linear polarization state to a circular polarization state and to convert light in a circular polarization state to a linear polarization state. The mirror is arranged to receive light from the polarization state converting element and reflect the light back to the polarization state converting element. The optical arrangement causes a transmission path of light that traverses the waveguide stack a first time to be folded back through the waveguide stack such that at least a portion of light not coupled into the waveguide substrate is caused to traverse the waveguide stack a plurality of additional times.

A laser device for use with a display including a plurality of pixels is disclosed. The laser device includes a gain section and a modulator. The gain section is electrically coupled with a first current or voltage source. The gain section is configured to selectively amplify an optical power of light reflecting within the gain section based on a first drive current or voltage supplied from the first current or voltage source to the gain section. The modulator is optically coupled with the gain section. The modulator is electrically coupled with a second current or voltage source. The modulator is configured to selectively attenuate or amplify an optical power of light received from the gain section based on a second drive current or voltage supplied from the second current or voltage source to the modulator. Light emitted from the modulator is provided to the display.

An optical device includes variable optical material that alters at least one of: incident ambient light, spectral content of incident ambient light or direction of incident ambient light through the optical device in response to a stimulus provided by the device. The device can sense intensity and/or spectral characteristics of ambient light and provide appropriate stimulus to various portions of the optical device to activate the variable optical material and alter at least one of: incident ambient light, spectral content of incident ambient light or direction of incident ambient light.