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. The beam steering assembly includes a birefringent plate configurable to replicate a light ray incident on the beam steering assembly such that the replicated light ray is laterally shifted relative to an optical path of the light ray incident on the beam steering assembly.

An optical device includes a lightguide having a first pair of external surfaces parallel to each other, and at least two sets of facets. Each of the sets including a plurality of partially reflecting facets parallel to each other, and between the first pair of external surfaces. In each of the sets of facets, the respective facets are at an oblique angle relative to the first pair of external surfaces, and at a non-parallel angle relative to another of the sets of facets. The optical device is particularly suited for optical aperture expansion.

A multi-image display apparatus for augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality (MR) includes a diffractive optical lens element, an image forming device configured to form a first image including a first color image, a second color image, and a third color image, and an optical system configured to transfer the first image and a second image to the diffractive optical lens element, the second image transferred along a path different from a path of the first image. The optical system is configured to offset chromatic aberration of the diffractive optical lens element by providing different optical path lengths for the first color image, the second color image, and the third color image.

Provided is a laser device. The laser device includes a plurality of light-emitting components and a diffractive optical element. The plurality of light-emitting components are configured to emit laser beams of various colors. The diffractive optical element is disposed on light-output paths of the plurality of light-emitting components, wherein the diffractive optical element includes a plurality of diffractive areas, each of the plurality of diffractive areas corresponding to one color laser beam; and the diffractive optical element is configured to shape incident laser beams.

A relay optical system includes an object-side lens which is disposed nearest to an object, an image-side lens which is disposed nearest to an image, and a cemented lens having a positive refractive power. The object-side lens has a positive refractive power and is disposed such that a convex surface is directed toward an object side. The image-side lens has a positive refractive power and is disposed such that a convex surface is directed toward an image side. A plurality of the cemented lenses is disposed between the object-side lens and the image side lens and the following conditional expression (1) is satisfied:

0.04<Gce/Drel<0.4(1) where, Gce denotes the smallest of intervals of adjacent cemented lenses, and Drel denotes a distance from an object plane up to an image plane of the relay optical system.

An optical scanning apparatus includes a deflector configured to deflect a light beam from a light source to cause the light beam to scan a surface to be scanned in a main scanning direction, an incident optical system that includes a single incident optical element and is configured to guide the light beam from the light source to the deflector, and an image-forming optical system configured to condense the light beam having been deflected by the deflector as condensing points on the surface to be scanned. At least one of the incident optical system and the image-forming optical system includes a diffractive surface that corrects displacement amounts of the condensing points in a main scanning section and a sub scanning section when a wavelength of the light beam from the light source varies.

A head up display can use a catadioptric collimating system. The head up display includes an image source. The head up display also includes a collimating mirror, and a polarizing beam splitter. The light from the image source enters the beam splitter and is reflected toward the collimating mirror. The light striking the collimating mirror is reflected through the beam splitter toward a combiner. A field lens can include a diffractive surface. A corrector lens can be disposed after the beam splitter.

Provided is a zoom lens comprising in order from an object side to an image side, a positive first lens unit including a diffractive optical element, a negative second lens unit, a positive third lens unit including at least one positive lens, and a rear unit including one or more lens units, in which intervals between adjacent lens units are changed during zooming. The third lens unit comprises a positive lens formed by using a material with an Abbe number and a partial dispersion ratio concerning a C-line and a t-line both of which are appropriately set. In the zoom lens, a focal length of the first lens unit and a back focus of the zoom lens when focusing on infinity at a telephoto end are appropriately set.

An optical device includes a lightguide having a first pair of external surfaces parallel to each other, and at least two sets of facets. Each of the sets including a plurality of partially reflecting facets parallel to each other, and between the first pair of external surfaces. In each of the sets of facets, the respective facets are at an oblique angle relative to the first pair of external surfaces, and at a non-parallel angle relative to another of the sets of facets. The optical device is particularly suited for optical aperture expansion.

An optical scanning apparatus includes a deflector configured to deflect a light beam from a light source to cause the light beam to scan a surface to be scanned in a main scanning direction, an incident optical system that includes a single incident optical element and is configured to guide the light beam from the light source to the deflector, and an image-forming optical system configured to condense the light beam having been deflected by the deflector as condensing points on the surface to be scanned. At least one of the incident optical system and the image-forming optical system includes a diffractive surface that corrects displacement amounts of the condensing points in a main scanning section and a sub scanning section when a wavelength of the light beam from the light source varies.