There is provided a near-to-eye display device, including: an optical waveguide; at least one in-coupling grating on a surface of the optical waveguide and configured to couple received parallel light into the optical waveguide for propagating by total internal reflection; a light out-coupling structure on the surface of the optical waveguide and configured to extract the light propagating by total internal reflection in the optical waveguide to become an outgoing light from the optical waveguide; and an optical lens configured to receive the outgoing light, remain an outgoing direction of the outgoing light with a first polarization direction, and converge or diverge the outgoing light with a second polarization direction. There is further provided an augmented reality apparatus including the near-to-eye display device.

This slow light waveguide includes an initial region which extends, along an optical axis, from a start starting from which the width of a central waveguide begins to continuously decrease up to an end beyond which the width of the central waveguide no longer decreases up to the end of a slowing section, this initial region overlapping a broadening region where the length of lateral teeth continuously increases, a final region which extends, along the optical axis, from a start starting from which the width of the central waveguide begins to continuously increase up to an end beyond which the width of the central waveguide no longer increases, this final region overlapping a narrowing region where the length of the lateral teeth continuously decreases.

An optical integrated circuit includes: a mode conversion and branching section that launches light from a first optical waveguide to a second optical waveguide, converts light from the first optical waveguide into converted light, and launches the converted light to a third optical waveguide; an optical multiplexing and branching section that multiplexes lights from the second and third optical waveguides into one multiplexed light component, and branches the multiplexed light component into a light component to be input to a fourth optical waveguide and a light component to be input to a fifth optical waveguide; a phase modulation section that is provided in at least one of the fourth and fifth optical waveguides and modulates a phase of guided light; and an optical multiplexing section that multiplexes light components from the fourth and fifth optical waveguides into one light component.

Liquid crystal modulator optical devices and more specifically shutters and smart windows are presented. The liquid crystal modulator devices are characterized by a reduced polymer content which is eliminated from the material composition of the liquid crystal layer and characterized by non-uniform electrode structures in the liquid crystal structure configured to generate spatially non-uniform electric fields and therefore non-uniform molecular reorientation of liquid crystal molecules. This arrangement advantageously makes light scattering electrically controllable.

According to one embodiment, an optical device includes a first light-modulating element transmitting or scattering light, and a second light-modulating element transmitting or scattering the light passing through the first light-modulating element, a driving module alternately performing a first mode of making the first light-modulating element scatter the light and making the second light-modulating element transmit the light, and a second mode of making the first light-modulating element transmit the light and making the second light-modulating element scatter the light.

A display panel includes a polarizer and a plurality of optical adjustment layers stacking over one another over the polarizer. The polarizer converts a light incident from its light-incident surface into a linearly polarized light emitting out from its light-emitting surface. Each optical adjustment layer includes a polarization direction-adjusting sub-layer and a quantum rod sub-layer over the polarization direction-adjusting sub-layer. The polarization direction-adjusting sub-layer includes a plurality of adjusting portions and is configured to adjustably control a polarization direction of an incident polarized light. The quantum rod sub-layer includes a plurality of light-excitement portions, and is configured to adjustably change a wavelength of the incident polarized light. Each light-excitement portions contains a plurality of quantum rods, each having its long axis in a substantially same direction. By adjusting the incident light and controlling the plurality of optical adjustment layers, the display panel can realize a full-color display.

A vehicular rearview assembly is provided that includes a display configured to emit light of a first polarization. A reflective polarizer is positioned adjacent the display. The reflective polarizer is configured to transmit the light of the first polarization and reflect light of a second polarization and an electro-optic element is positioned on an opposite side of the reflective polarizer than the display. The electro-optic element is configured to transition between substantially clear and substantially darkened states. The electro-optic element includes a plurality of electrochromic molecules substantially aligned with the second polarization of the light such that the electro-optic element is configured to substantially absorb the light of the second polarization when in the darkened state.

Disclosed herein is a modulator (50) for polarization-division multiplexing (PDM) transmission. The modulator (50) comprises first and second DP-MZMs (12, 28) associated with first and second polarizations, each DP-MZM (12, 28) having an input for an in-phase and a quadrature driving signal for modulating the in-phase and quadrature components of an optical signal according to respective transfer functions, and a detector (58) suitable for detecting light comprising at least a portion of the light outputted by the first DP-MZM (12) and a portion of the light outputted by the second DP-MZM (28). The modulator (50) is adapted to superimpose a first pilot signal on one of the in-phase and quadrature driving signals of the first DP-MZM (12) and on one of the in-phase and quadrature driving signals of the second DP-MZM (28), and a second pilot signal on the respective other of the in-phase and quadrature driving signals of the first and second DP-MZMs (12, 28). Further, the first and second pilot signals are chosen such that the signal detected by said detector (58) is indicative as to whether the slopes of the transfer functions are different for the in-phase and quadrature components of one of the first and second DP-MZMs (12, 28) and identical for the other of the first and second DP-MZMs (12, 28).

A method of wafer level manufacturing, separating and electrical connection of liquid crystal optical devices is disclosed. An electro-optic device having at least one liquid crystal cell for providing spatially variable control of light is also described. The electro-optic device includes: a pair of opposed substrates, each substrate having a lateral extent; a pair of electrodes for applying an electric field therebetween, each electrode having a pattern and being deposited on a corresponding substrate, each electrode having an electrical contact area extending to at least one side of the corresponding substrate; a pair of alignment layers sandwiching a liquid crystal layer therebetween, the alignment layers defining a predominant orientation direction for liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer; and a liquid crystal reservoir wall defining a lateral extent of the liquid crystal layer, the liquid crystal reservoir wall being spaced from at least one side of each substrate such that each electrode electrical contact area is exposed to air in an air gap between the substrates.

An optical device (20) includes an electro-optical layer, including a liquid crystal material (24) with a heliconical structure having a pitch that is less than 250 nm and is modifiable by an electric field. An array of excitation electrodes (28) extends over the electro-optical layer. Control circuitry (23) is coupled to apply control voltage waveforms to the excitation electrodes and is configured to modify the control voltage waveforms so as to locally modify a molecule director angle of the heliconical structure and thus to generate a specified phase modulation profile in the electro-optical layer.