An optical arrangement for light beam shaping in a light microscope has a first and a second liquid crystal region, each of which has a plurality of independently switchable liquid crystal elements with which a phase of incident light is changeable in a settable manner. A first polarization beam splitter is arranged in such a way that incident light is split in a polarization-dependent manner into reflection light, which is reflected in the direction of the first liquid crystal region, and transmission light, which is transmitted in the direction of the second liquid crystal region. The first or a second polarization beam splitter is arranged such that the reflection light and transmission light are combined onto a common beam path after phase modulation by means of the liquid crystal regions.

A metrology apparatus for determining a characteristic of interest of a structure on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a radiation source configured to generate illumination radiation; at least two illumination branches comprising at least one optical fiber and configured to illuminate a structure on a substrate from different angles; and a radiation switch configured to receive the illumination radiation and transfer at least part of the radiation to a selectable one of the at least two illumination branches.

A manipulator device such as a robot arm that is capable of increasing manufacturing throughput for additively manufactured parts, and allows for the manipulation of parts that would be difficult or impossible for a human to move is described. The manipulator can grasp various permanent or temporary additively manufactured manipulation points on a part to enable repositioning or maneuvering of the part.

In some embodiments, an augmented reality system includes at least one waveguide that is configured to receive and redirect light toward a user, and is further configured to allow ambient light from an environment of the user to pass therethrough toward the user. The augmented reality system also includes a first adaptive lens assembly positioned between the at least one waveguide and the environment, a second adaptive lens assembly positioned between the at least one waveguide and the user, and at least one processor operatively coupled to the first and second adaptive lens assemblies. Each lens assembly of the augmented reality system is selectively switchable between at least two different states in which the respective lens assembly is configured to impart at least two different optical powers to light passing therethrough, respectively. The at least one processor is configured to cause the first and second adaptive lens assemblies to synchronously switch between different states in a manner such that the first and second adaptive lens assemblies impart a substantially constant net optical power to ambient light from the environment passing therethrough.

In a projection display system, a light-emitting diode (LED) can generate unpolarized light. A light guide can receive the unpolarized light from a perimeter of the light guide and guide the unpolarized light between a light emission surface and an opposing surface as guided light. The light guide can include a plurality of light-extraction features that can direct a portion of the guided light out of the light guide through the light emission surface as unpolarized emitted light. A polarizing film can reflect at least some of a first polarization state of the unpolarized emitted light into the light guide through the light emission surface and can transmit at least some of a second polarization state of the unpolarized emitted light through the polarizing film to form a polarized light beam. An angular reduction film can reduce a range of propagation angles of the polarized light beam.

A polarization modulator includes a first liquid crystal cell and a second liquid crystal cell. The first liquid crystal cell has a first type of liquid crystals configured to rotate an optical axis of light parallel to a first plane of the first liquid crystal cell. The second liquid crystal cell is configured to receive the light from the first liquid crystal cell. The second liquid crystal cell has a second type of liquid crystals configured to rotate the optical axis of the light perpendicular to a second plane of the second liquid crystal cell.

A laser irradiation apparatus is a laser irradiation apparatus including a plurality of laser light sources, the laser irradiation apparatus including a control unit configured to perform control with regard to laser emitted from the plurality of laser light sources, in which the control unit acquires characteristic information of each of the plurality of laser light sources, and performs a predetermined process according to each piece of acquired characteristic information.

A structured light projector includes a light source configured to emit light, a structured light pattern mask configured to receive the light emitted by the light source and including a first region configured to generate a first structured light having a first polarization and a second region configured to generate a second structured light having a second polarization that is different from the first polarization, and a polarization multiplexing deflector configured to deflect the first structured light and the second structured light generated by the structured light pattern mask, to different directions, respectively.

Methods, materials, systems, and devices for stabilizing photoalignment patterns in liquid crystal diffractive waveplates (LCDWs) against radiation, mechanical, and electrical influences by creating a polymer network within the bulk of LCDW such as the polymer network does not affect the LC orientation pattern in the bulk of the DW and does not result in residual retardation and light scattering while being able to fast switching and relaxation with no haze at application of electric fields.

An optical assembly to reduce glare and enhance sharpness in a head-mounted device (HMD) is provided. The optical assembly may include an optical stack, such as pancake optics. The optical assembly may also include at least two optical elements. The optical assembly may further include at least one liquid crystal (LC) layer between the at least two optical elements, wherein the liquid crystal (LC) layer provides dynamic glare reduction and enhanced sharpness using a controllable polarization technique. In some examples, the controllable polarization technique may include determining optical assembly orientation using a sensor. Based the optical assembly orientation, the polarization of the at least one liquid crystal (LC) layer may be dynamically adjusted via adjustments in applied voltage to minimize or reduce glare and enhance visual sharpness.