An optical inspection system includes one or more gratings to convert the polarization of light scattered from a target from an elliptical polarization that varies spatially across a collection pupil to a linear polarization that is uniformly oriented across the collection pupil. The one or more gratings have phase retardation that varies spatially across the collection pupil in accordance with the elliptical polarization. The one or more gratings include at least one grating on a reflective substrate. The optical inspection system also includes a linear polarizer to filter out the linearly polarized light.

In making an optical component, one or more portions of a substrate's surface are patterned. At least a region of the substrate's surface is coated in negative photoresist, the region encompassing said portions. The negative photoresist becomes undevelopable when exposed to light. Light which forms a grating structure is projected over each of the portions. Light of substantially uniform intensity over the entirety of the region but for the portions, thereby leaving the negative photoresist outside of the portions undevelopable. The negative photoresist is developed so as to embody the grating structure in the photoresist covering the portions. The substrate's surface is patterned to impose the grating structure on the substrate's surface from the developed photoresist; the undevelopable photoresist inhibits patterning of the surface region outside of the portions. The optical component comprises the patterned substrate.

An antenna structure for directing light is disclosed. The antenna structure includes a reflector having a reflective surface and a ring-shaped dielectric grating arranged at the reflective surface and extending concentrically along a center axis perpendicular to the reflective surface and forming an omnidirectional reflector surrounding a low-index center portion of the ring-shaped dielectric grating. The antenna structure is configured to outcouple light emitted inside the low-index center portion through an upper end of the dielectric grating along the center axis with a Gaussian beam profile projection efficiency η of at least 65%. A light emitting device and a method for designing an antenna structure are also disclosed.

A lighting apparatus comprising a single point-like light source, preferably a LED, and a transmissive lens structure optically connected to said light source defining a plurality of optically functional, mutually different segments dedicated for controlling the light, e.g. distribution and direction, originally emitted by said single light source. A corresponding transmissive element is presented.

Display devices include waveguides with metasurfaces as in-coupling and/or out-coupling optical elements. The metasurfaces may be formed on a surface of the waveguide and may include a plurality or an array of sub-wavelength-scale (e.g., nanometer-scale) protrusions. Individual protrusions may include horizontal and/or vertical layers of different materials which may have different refractive indices, allowing for enhanced manipulation of light redirecting properties of the metasurface. Some configurations and combinations of materials may advantageously allow for broadband metasurfaces. Manufacturing methods described herein provide for vertical and/or horizontal layers of different materials in a desired configuration or profile.

Provided are an optical device and a method of outputting light using the optical device. The optical device includes a waveguide, a first diffraction grating receiving at least a portion of light incident on the waveguide and a second diffraction grating receiving a light diffracted from the first diffraction grating, wherein the first diffraction grating and the second diffraction grating are provided in or on the waveguide, the light diffracted from the first diffraction grating is diffracted, in three-dimensional directions, from the second diffraction grating, and at least a portion of the light diffracted in the three-dimensional directions is output to an outside of the waveguide.

A diffractive beam expander for use in an augmented-reality display is disclosed. The device can include a optical substrate with a first diffractive optical element having a first diffractive grating disposed on one surface and a second diffractive grating disposed on the opposing surface. Portions of the first and second diffractive gratings overlap to define an in-coupling area configured to receive a beam of incoming light. The first diffractive optical element expands at least part of the received light beam by odd-order diffraction expansion in a first region and a second region and expands at least part of the received light beam by even-order diffraction expansion in a third region. The light components by the first diffractive optical element are then coupled into a second diffractive optical element, which is configured to out-couple at least part of the expanded diffracted light components to exit the substrate by diffraction.

A surface light source, comprising a waveguide layer and a grating structure; the waveguide layer has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other; the grating structure is provided on the first or second surface of the waveguide layer; and the grating structure is used for guiding light incident to the grating structure to the waveguide layer and performing total reflection propagation in the waveguide layer. Such surface light source structure enables energy and direction of light emitted from a light field modulation layer to be distributed uniformly, and thus the thickness of the surface light source and the number of LEDs in the surface light source are reduced. Also disclosed is a display device.

An input-coupler of an optical waveguide couples light corresponding to the image and having a corresponding FOV into the optical waveguide, and the input-coupler splits the FOV of the image coupled into the optical waveguide into first and second portions by diffracting a portion of the light corresponding to the image in a first direction toward a first intermediate-component, and diffracting a portion of the light corresponding to the image in a second direction toward a second intermediate-component. An output-coupler of the waveguide combines the light corresponding to the first and second portions of the FOV, and couples the light corresponding to the combined first and second portions of the FOV out of the optical waveguide so that the light corresponding to the image and the combined first and second portions of the FOV is output from the optical waveguide. The intermediate-components and the output-coupler also provide for pupil expansion.

An optical element includes a distributed Bragg reflector, wherein the distributed Bragg reflector includes a first-order diffraction grating of a first-order period disposed in a central region, and second-order diffraction gratings of a second-order period having a coupling coefficient smaller than a coupling coefficient of the first-order diffraction grating and disposed in both end regions between which the central region is located.