A near eye display (NED) includes multiple PBP optical elements combined with one or more C-plates to improve optical angular performance. The PBP optical elements may be configured for beam steering or for focusing light to a point. A C-plate may reduce or eliminate an undesirable polarization phase shift introduced by the PBP optical elements to angular, off-axis light. Birefringence of the PBP optical elements produces such a polarization phase shift. A C-plate provides an additional polarization phase shift that is opposite to the extra polarization phase shift by the PBP optical elements. Thus, the additional polarization phase shift by the C-plate at least partially reduces the phase shift by the PBP element.

An example deformable mirror includes a number of cells defining an aperture plane of the mirror. Each of the cells includes a first transparent electrode layer and a second reflective electrode layer, with a solid crystal electro-optical (EO) active layer between the electrode layers. The deformable mirror includes a reflective layer optically coupled to each of the cells on the reflective side of the cell.

Systems and method are provided for generating an image of an environment of a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes: determining, by a processor, a first position of a plurality of positions within a first field of view; controlling, by the processor, a discrete scanning device based on the first position; capturing, by an imaging device, pixel data for a plurality of pixels within a second field of view associated with the first position, wherein the second field of view is within the first field of view; and combining, by the processor, the pixel data from the second field of view with pixel data captured from a third field of view associated with one of the plurality of positions to form image data depicting the environment of the vehicle.

A beam deflector includes a first electrode layer including a plurality of line electrodes extending in a first direction and arranged parallel to each other in a second direction crossing the first direction; a second electrode layer separated from the first electrode layer by a predetermined distance to face the first electrode layer; and a deflection layer between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer and having a plurality of optically anisotropic molecules controlled by an electric field formed between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer. Each of the optically anisotropic molecules has an ellipse shape having a major axis and a minor axis, wherein the major axis is arranged to head for the first direction.

A cantilever beam waveguide for a silicon photonics device may be formed in a device layer (e.g., a silicon device layer) of a silicon photonics device (e.g., a chip) and may be configured to bend to align the cantilever beam waveguide or a portion thereof with one or more additional components of the silicon photonics device or another device, including output couplers, optical sources, and waveguides.

A device includes a polarization non-selective partial reflector configured to transmit a first portion of a first light and reflect a second portion of the first light. The device also includes a polarization selective reflector configured to reflect the first portion of the first light received from the polarization non-selective reflector back to the polarization non-selective reflector. The device further includes a path correction device disposed between the polarization non-selective partial reflector and the polarization selective reflector, and configured to forwardly steer the first portion of the first light propagating between the polarization non-selective partial reflector and the polarization selective reflector.

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.

An optical phase shifter may include a waveguide core that has a top surface, and a semiconductor contact that is laterally displaced relative to the waveguide core and is electrically connected to the waveguide core. A top surface of the semiconductor contact is above the top surface of the waveguide core. The waveguide core may include a p-type core region and an n-type core region. A p-type semiconductor region may be in physical contact with the n-type core region of the waveguide core, and an n-type semiconductor region may be in physical contact with the p-type core region of the waveguide core. A phase shifter region and a light-emitting region may be disposed at different depth levels, and the light-emitting region may emit light from a phase shifter region that is in a position adjacent to the light-emitting region.

Optical receivers and transmitters can be used as stand-alone systems or combined together as a transceiver. Each of the receiver and transmitter may include an optically reflective steerable device, such as an optically reflective liquid crystal metasurface (LCM), to steer optical radiation to a target location. A transmit waveguide conveys optical radiation from a light source to the transmitter steerable device. A receive waveguide conveys received optical radiation reflected by the receiver optically steerable device to a sensor. In some embodiments, the transmit waveguide and the receive waveguide may be portions of the same planar waveguide. The receiver includes a holographic lens between the receiver LCM and the receive waveguide to pass through optical radiation received at a first range of incident angles and modify (e.g., collimate and/or spectrally filter) optical radiation reflected by the receiver LCM for conveyance by the receive waveguide to the sensor.

A liquid crystal cell according to the present invention includes: a TFT substrate including a first dielectric substrate, TFTs supported on the first dielectric substrate, and patch electrodes electrically connected to the TFTs; a slot substrate including a second dielectric substrate and a slot electrode including slots supported on the second dielectric substrate; a liquid crystal layer interposed between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate which are arranged in a form in which the patch electrode and the slot electrode face each other; antenna units each including one of the patch electrodes and the slot electrode including at least one of the slots arranged corresponding to the one of the patch electrodes; and alignment films formed on surfaces of both of the TFT substrate and the slot substrate facing the liquid crystal layer, made of a polyimide-based resin, and having a relative dielectric constant of 3.8 or more.