A projector includes a beam homogenizer receiving light from a light source and creating a predetermined illumination, and a spatial light modulator including grating stages to receive the predetermined illumination. Each grating stage may include a plurality of pixels where corresponding pixels in the grating stages are aligned with one another. Each of the pixels may include a liquid crystal layer disposed between two substrates, where a pixel is switchable by applying a voltage thereto, with a grating period of the pixel selected such that, when the voltage is applied to the pixel and light is passed therethrough, optical energy from the light in plus and minus first orders is deflected toward sides of the pixel and optical energy from a zero order of the light is allowed to pass through the pixel, with a polarization state of the light maintained through the pixel.

A display device includes a display panel including display pixels, and a display filter overlapping the display panel and including filter pixels that are greater in number than the display pixels, wherein in units of frame, each of the display pixels is configured to emit light at a luminance corresponding to one gray level, and wherein in units of sub-frames, each of the filter pixels is configured to be switched to a transmissive state or a non-transmissive state, wherein each of the sub-frames is shorter in period than a corresponding one of the frames.

In one aspect, an optical device comprises a plurality of waveguides formed over one another and having formed thereon respective diffraction gratings, wherein the respective diffraction gratings are configured to diffract visible light incident thereon into respective waveguides, such that visible light diffracted into the respective waveguides propagates therewithin. The respective diffraction gratings are configured to diffract the visible light into the respective waveguides within respective field of views (FOVs) with respect to layer normal directions of the respective waveguides. The respective FOVs are such that the plurality of waveguides are configured to diffract the visible light within a combined FOV that is continuous and greater than each of the respective FOVs.

An image displacement device includes a first grating and a second grating. Each grating is switchable between a diffracting state and a non-diffracting state. The first grating has a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the first surface receives image beams, and the image beams leave the first grating by the second surface. The second grating is disposed downstream from the first grating in a light path and has a third surface and a fourth surface opposite the third surface. The third surface receives the image beams, and the image beams leave the second grating by the fourth surface. An exit direction of the image beam exiting the second grating is shifted a distance in a first direction from an incident direction of the image beam incident to the first grating.

One embodiment of the invention provides a pattern generation device includes a light source, a first HPDLC cell, and a second HPDLC cell. The first HPDLC cell is disposed downstream of a light path of the light source and contains a first phase modulation pattern. The second HPDLC cell is disposed downstream of a light path of the first HPDLC cell and contains a second phase modulation pattern.

A transmissive liquid crystal diffraction element includes a rod-like liquid crystal layer where a rod-like liquid crystal compound is aligned and a disk-like liquid crystal layer where a disk-like liquid crystal compound is aligned that are alternately laminated, in which each of the liquid crystal layers has a predetermined liquid crystal alignment pattern, rotation directions of optical axes in the liquid crystal alignment patterns are the same, single periods of the liquid crystal alignment patterns are the same, a thickness direction retardation |Rth| of each of the liquid crystal layers is 65 nm or less, and at an interface between the liquid crystal layers, longitudinal directions of the liquid crystal compounds match with each other.

In one aspect, an optical device comprises a plurality of waveguides formed over one another and having formed thereon respective diffraction gratings, wherein the respective diffraction gratings are configured to diffract visible light incident thereon into respective waveguides, such that visible light diffracted into the respective waveguides propagates therewithin. The respective diffraction gratings are configured to diffract the visible light into the respective waveguides within respective field of views (FOVs) with respect to layer normal directions of the respective waveguides. The respective FOVs are such that the plurality of waveguides are configured to diffract the visible light within a combined FOV that is continuous and greater than each of the respective FOVs.

A near-eye display system includes a display panel to present image frames to the eyes of a user for viewing. The system also includes a beam steering assembly facing the display panel that is configurable to displace a light beam incident on the beam steering assembly, thereby laterally shifting light relative to an optical path of the light beam incident on the beam steering assembly. A method of operation of the near-eye display system includes configuring the beam steering assembly in a first configuration state so that the beam steering assembly displaces a light beam incident on the beam steering assembly, such that the displaced light beam is laterally shifted relative to an optical path of the light beam.

A device for reducing laser speckle using a micro scanner and a holographic diffuser. The micro scanner includes a first transparent optical substrate with an input surface and an output surface and a second transparent optical substrate with an input surface and an output surface and a variable refractive index medium sandwiched between the output surface of the first substrate and the input surface of the second substrate. Transparent electrodes are applied to the output surface of the first substrate and the input surface of the second substrate. The electrodes are coupled to a voltage generator. The input surface of the first substrate is optically coupled to a laser source. The input surface of the second substrate is configured as an array of prismatic elements. At least one of the input surface of the first substrate or the output surfaces of the second substrate is planar.

This present disclosure describes a method, a device, and a system for performing a pulse shaping method that accurately converts short laser pulses into arbitrarily programmable optical waveforms with much longer duration. The optical pulse shaping method is based on multi-frequency acoustic-optic modulation and retro-diffraction based multiple optical delay line generation. Regarding the optical pulse shaping method, precise high-speed programming control on amplitudes, phases, and delays of a picosecond ultrashort sub-pulse sequence is implemented, to obtain an arbitrary waveform optical pulse with a near-THz bandwidth and a coherence time up to nanoseconds, for applications in quantum control of atomic/molecular optical transition.