A head-mounted apparatus include an eyepiece that include a variable dimming assembly and a frame mounting the eyepiece so that a user side of the eyepiece faces a towards a user and a world side of the eyepiece opposite the first side faces away from the user. The dynamic dimming assembly selectively modulates an intensity of light transmitted parallel to an optical axis from the world side to the user side during operation. The dynamic dimming assembly includes a variable birefringence cell having multiple pixels each having an independently variable birefringence, a first linear polarizer arranged on the user side of the variable birefringence cell, the first linear polarizer being configured to transmit light propagating parallel to the optical axis linearly polarized along a pass axis of the first linear polarizer orthogonal to the optical axis, a quarter wave plate arranged between the variable birefringence cell and the first linear polarizer, a fast axis of the quarter wave plate being arranged relative to the pass axis of the first linear polarizer to transform linearly polarized light transmitted by the first linear polarizer into circularly polarized light, and a second linear polarizer on the world side of the variable birefringence cell.

A system includes a spatial light modulator comprising a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate. The spatial light modulator is characterized by a first retardation and a first phase retardation and has a first slow axis for light propagation. A voltage source is configured to apply a drive voltage to the spatial light modulator and the first retardation of the spatial light modulator is a function of the drive voltage. A retarder is positioned external to the spatial light modulator and is characterized by a second retardation and a second phase retardation. The retarder includes a second slow axis for light propagation. The second retardation has a value such that all illumination wavelengths in a set of illumination wavelengths are above or below a phase retardation value of 0.25. The set of illumination wavelengths includes at least one illumination wavelength in each of at least three different color spectrums.

A dual view display for an automotive vehicle comprises a spatial light modulator and a polar control retarder comprising a switchable liquid crystal retarder arranged between a first pair of polarisers. The switchable liquid crystal retarder comprises a polarisation-switch retarder and a polar control retarder with an average director that is directed towards an off-axis viewing location. In a first temporal phase of operation, the spatial light modulator and polar control retarder are arranged to direct light comprising a first image towards a first direction and in a second temporal phase of operation to direct light comprising a second image towards a second direction.

A shaping apparatus is equipped with: a beam shaping system having a beam irradiation section that includes a condensing optical system which emits a beam and a material processing section which supplies a shaping material irradiated by the beam from the beam irradiation section; and a controller which, on the basis of 3D data of a three-dimensional shaped object to be formed on a target surface, controls a workpiece movement system and the beam shaping system such that a target portion on the target surface is shaped by supplying the shaping material from the material processing section while moving the beam from the beam irradiation section and the target surface on a workpiece (or a table) relative to each other. Further the intensity distribution of the beam in the shaping plane facing the emitting surface of the condensing optical system can be modified.

The present invention relates to an optical component comprising a liquid crystal (LC) medium, operable in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The invention further relates to the use of said LC medium in the infrared (IR) region and to devices comprising said optical component. The present invention further relates to an LC medium comprising one or more compounds of the formulae I, II, and III

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in which the occurring groups and parameters have the meanings defined in claim 1, and preferably one or more compounds of the formula RO

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in which the occurring groups and parameters have the meanings defined in claim 2.

Provided by the present technology is an illumination apparatus including a light source section, a phase modulation section, and a control section. The light source section has a light emitting element. The phase modulation section performs spatial light phase modulation on incident light from the light source section. The control section controls the phase modulation section in such a manner that a plurality of domains formed by dividing a phase modulation plane of the phase modulation section reproduces a light intensity distribution based on a common phase distribution determined on the basis of a Freeform method in a common region on a projection plane.

A laser beam applying apparatus has a laser beam applying unit including a laser beam source for emitting the laser beam, a spatial light modulator for modulating the laser beam, according to phase patterns, and emitting the modulated laser beam, and a beam focusing assembly for focusing the laser beam modulated by the spatial light modulator and applying the focused laser beam to a plate-shaped workpiece. The laser beam applying apparatus also has a controller including a phase pattern storage section for storing a plurality of phase patterns representing respective different positions in a plane of the plate-shaped workpiece where the laser beam is applied when the phase patterns are displayed on the spatial light modulator, and a phase pattern control section for switching to predetermined phase patterns among the phase patterns stored in the phase pattern storage section as the phase patterns displayed on the spatial light modulator.

Disclosed is an optical system for laser machining that enables simpler and more reliable machining of several patterns simultaneously on the same part. The system comprises an ultra-short pulse laser source for generating a source laser beam; a device with a separation means for separating a source laser beam into a plurality of separated laser beams, such that each of the separated laser beams is directed in a direction of propagation specific thereto; a spatial offsetting unit for obtaining, from the plurality of separated laser beams, a plurality of offset laser beams such that each offset laser beam can propagate around a main axis of propagation A specific thereto and is capable of describing a movement around the main axis of propagation A; and a focusing means configured to focus each offset laser beam on a workpiece in the direction of the axis of propagation specific thereto.

A laser beam spot shape correcting method includes a laser beam irradiating step of irradiating a concave mirror with a laser beam, an imaging step of imaging reflected light by a beam profiler, an image forming step of forming an XZ plane image or a YZ plane image from an XY plane image imaged in the imaging step, and a comparing step of comparing the image formed in the image forming step with an XZ plane image or a YZ plane image of an ideal laser beam. A phase pattern displayed on a display unit of a spatial light modulator is changed such that the XZ plane image or the YZ plane image formed in the image forming step coincides with the XZ plane image or the YZ plane image of the ideal laser beam.

To enable a display to display different content to different viewers, a display may include a time-sequential directional backlight unit. The backlight unit may emit light in different directions in different configurations. In a first state, the backlight unit emits light at maximum brightness in a first direction. In a second state, the backlight unit emits light at maximum brightness in a second direction that is different than the first direction. The backlight unit may repeatedly and rapidly switch between the different states. The first direction may be towards a first viewer whereas the second direction may be towards a second, different viewer. Therefore, each viewer receives backlight in one of the configurations and does not receive backlight in the other configuration. In synchronization with the backlight unit, the liquid crystal display panel may repeatedly switch between displaying content for the first viewer and displaying content for the second viewer.