A self-lit display panel includes a photonic integrated circuit payer including an array of waveguides and an array of out-couplers for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light through pixels of the panel. The self-lit display panel may include a transparent electronic circuitry layer backlit by the photonic integrated circuit layer; the two layers may be on a same substrate or on opposed substrates defining a cell filled with an electro-active material. The configuration allows for chief ray engineering, zonal illuminating, and separate illumination with red, green, and blue illuminating light.

An optical modulator includes a dielectric layer and a waveguide. The waveguide is disposed on the dielectric layer. The waveguide has a first region, a second region, and an optical coupling region between the first region and the second region. The waveguide located in the first region includes a first electrical coupling portion and a first slab portion connected to each other. The waveguide located in the second region includes a second electrical coupling portion and a second slab portion connected to each other. The waveguide located in the optical coupling region includes a first optical coupling portion and a second optical coupling portion. The first slab portion has at least two sub-portions having different heights. The second slab portion has at least two sub-portions having different heights.

An optical device includes a first waveguide that propagates light in a first direction; and a second waveguide including a first mirror, a second mirror, and an optical waveguide layer. The first mirror extends in the first direction and has a first reflecting surface, and the second mirror extends in the first direction and has a second reflecting surface. The optical waveguide layer is located between the first and second mirrors and propagates the light in the first direction. A forward end portion of the first waveguide is disposed inside the optical waveguide layer. In a region in which the first and second waveguides overlap each other when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the first reflecting surface, at least part of the first waveguide and/or at least part of the second waveguide includes at least one grating whose refractive index varies periodically in the first direction.

Systems and methods for holographic waveguide illumination homogenizers in accordance with various embodiments of the invention are illustrated. One embodiment includes an illumination device that includes a laser source emitting light of at least a first wavelength, a light modulator, a dynamic micromirror device for reflecting incident collimated light modulated with image data by said light modulator into directions within a field of view, and at least one waveguide substrate with a first and second total internal reflection surface, each said substrate supporting at least one input grating for coupling light of a first polarization from said laser into a total internal reflection path in said substrate and at least one switchable grating beam splitter for diffracting said first polarization light and receiving light of a second polarization reflected from said dynamic micromirror device and transmitting it through a second surface of the waveguide.

Structures for a grating coupler and methods of fabricating a structure for a grating coupler. The grating coupler includes a first plurality of grating structures and a second plurality of grating structures that alternate with the first plurality of grating structures in an interleaved arrangement. The first plurality of grating structures are composed of a dielectric material or a semiconductor material. The second plurality of grating structures are composed of a tunable material having a refractive index that changes with an applied voltage.

An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar dielectric lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes an output coupler, such as a grating or photonic crystal, that guides the collimated beams in different directions out of the lens plane. A switch matrix controls which input port is illuminated and hence the in-plane propagation direction of the collimated beam. And a tunable light source changes the wavelength to control the angle at which the collimated beam leaves the plane of the substrate. The device is very efficient, in part because the input port (and thus in-plane propagation direction) can be changed by actuating only log.sub.2 N of the N switches in the switch matrix. It can also be much simpler, smaller, and cheaper because it needs fewer control lines than a conventional optical phased array with the same resolution.

Examples of a wearable device are disclosed. In one example, the wearable device may include an optical network, a first sensor and a second sensor coupled with the optical network, and a processor. The first sensor and a second sensor are configured to generate, respectively, first sensor data and second sensor data related to different physical measurements, and to transmit the first sensor data and the second sensor data to the optical network. The processor is coupled with the optical network and configured to: receive at least one of the first sensor data or the second sensor data from the optical network; and determine output content of the wearable device based on the at least one of the first sensor data or the second sensor data.

An electro-holographic light field generator device is disclosed. The light field generator device has an optical substrate with a waveguide face and an exit face. One or more surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulator devices are included within each light field generator device. The SAW devices each include a light input, a waveguide, and a SAW transducer, all configured for guided mode confinement of input light within the waveguide. A leaky mode deflection of a portion of the waveguided light, or diffractive light, impinges upon the exit face. Multiple output optics at the exit face are configured for developing from each of the output optics a radiated exit light from the diffracted light for at least one of the waveguides. An RF controller is configured to control the SAW devices to develop the radiated exit light as a three-dimensional output light field with horizontal parallax and compatible with observer vertical motion.

A Liquid Crystal Waveguide (LCW) system can provide sub-aperture incoupling or outcoupling of light having an input wavelength and input beamsize defining an aperture characteristic of the system. A Liquid Crystal Waveguide (LCW) can include a generally planar LCW core to receive light via a light input zone for communication toward a light output zone. Sub-aperture interfacial light couplers can be planarly arranged in or parallel to the planar LCW core in the light input zone or the light output zone. Sub-aperture interfacial light couplers can include teeth, prisms, or facets, a photonic crystal metasurface, or a geometric-phased holograph (GPH)). Overall LCW thickness can be reduced, which can be helpful in space-limited applications or for reducing material costs.

The invention relates to a waveguide comprising a substrate (1) on which a layer stack (2) of at least two layer formations (3a, 3b) is arranged, each layer formation (3a, 3b) having at least one transparent dielectric layer (3a1, 3b2), in particular with a higher refractive index than the substrate (1). A structure which influences light propagation, in particular a structure (4) which extends in a layer-like manner, at least in some regions, is arranged between two adjacent layer formations (3a, 3b), the position of the structure (4) in the layer stack corresponding to a node position of a waveguide mode which can be guided in the waveguide and has at least one, preferably exactly one node (5a). The waveguide comprises at least one means for at least temporarily changing the position of the node (5a) of a guided waveguide mode and the structure (4) relative to each other. The invention also relates to a display consisting of at least one such waveguide and to a method for coupling light out of a waveguide, wherein the light is propagated as a waveguide mode with at least one node, the node position of which corresponds to the position, in the waveguide, of a structure influencing light propagation, and wherein the relative position of the node of the waveguide mode and the structure is at least temporarily shifted, in particular by shifting the node relative to the structure or by shifting the structure relative to the node.