A head-mounted computing device having a waveguide optical engine assembly is disclosed. The waveguide is enclosed in a housing to limit or minimize exposure of the waveguide to ambient light. Further, the waveguide optical engine assembly comprises a compact footprint by allowing the other components of the waveguide optical engine assembly, such as a microprojector, a prism assembly, and the like, to be placed behind a rear surface of the waveguide. In addition to the compact footprint of the waveguide optical assembly, the configuration of the waveguide optical assembly disclosed, allows for maximization of advantages provided by the waveguide as related to eye box and eye relief. Additionally, the power requirements of the waveguide are greatly reduced, which also results in a prolonged battery life powering the head-mounted computing device.

An optical waveguide system and an electronic device are disclosed. The system comprises: a waveguide; an input coupler coupling a light into the waveguide; and an output coupler, wherein the input coupler includes a right portion and a left portion, wherein the right portion includes stacked first and second polarization volume gratings, the left portion includes stacked third and fourth polarization volume gratings. The first and fourth polarization volume gratings are polarization volume gratings optimized for a right-hand-side field of view of the light, and the third and second polarization volume gratings are polarization volume gratings optimized for a lefthand-side field of view of the light.

An optical display system and an augmented reality electronic device are disclosed. The optical display system comprises: a waveguide; an input coupler, provided at the input end of the waveguide and couples an image light into it; and a two-dimensional grating, provided at the output end of waveguide. The waveguide delivers the image light to the two-dimensional grating, which performs pupil expansion on the image light and out-couples the expanded image light. The two-dimensional grating has rhombus lattices. Unit cells of the two-dimensional grating are un-symmetric along respective axes parallel with a propagation direction of the image light incident onto the two-dimensional grating, from a top view of the two-dimensional grating. The unit cells are oriented with the propagation direction of the image light and each of the unit cells has at least two vertexes at its end side.

A holographic display is comprised of space-multiplexed elemental modulators, each of which consists of a surface acoustic wave transducer atop an anisotropic waveguide. Each “line” of the overall display consists of a single anisotropic waveguide across the display's length with multiple surface acoustic wave transducers spaced along the waveguide length, although for larger displays, the waveguide may be divided into segments, each provided with separate illumination. Light that is undiffracted by a specific transducer is available for diffraction by subsequent transducers. Per transducer, guided-mode light is mode-converted to leaky-mode light, which propagates into the substrate away from the viewer before encountering a volume reflection grating and being reflected and steered towards the viewer. The display is transparent and all reflection volume gratings operate in the Bragg regime, thereby creating no dispersion of ambient light.

An optical system for transmitting a source image includes a light guide, which defines a light transmission channel, an optical coupling arrangement and an optical decoupling arrangement, the coupling arrangement being designed to couple light emerging from the source image into the light guide arrangement in such a way that the light can propagate in the light guide arrangement by total reflection, and the decoupling arrangement being designed to decouple light that has propagated in the light guide arrangement from the light guide arrangement. The light guide arrangement comprises an optical deflection device, which, as viewed in the direction of propagation of the light in the light guide arrangement, is arranged between the coupling arrangement and the decoupling arrangement and is designed to deflect light ray bundles, emerging from the coupling arrangement at different beam angles and impinging divergently on the deflection device, in bundled manner towards the decoupling arrangement.

An apparatus having an asymmetric adjustable lens with a deformable optical element. The apparatus may also include one or more actuators coupled to a deformable element of the asymmetric adjustable lens in a direct-drive configuration such that (1) mechanical action of the one or more actuators applies force to the deformable optical element and (2) the force applied by the mechanical action of the one or more actuators changes an optical property of the asymmetric adjustable lens by deforming the deformable optical element. Various other devices, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

An optical system includes a pancake lens assembly which has a lens unit and a liquid crystal device. The lens unit includes a partially reflective mirror, a reflective polarizer, and a quarter waveplate disposed between the partially reflective mirror and the reflective polarizer. The liquid crystal device is disposed between the quarter waveplate and the reflective polarizer. When a light is introduced into the pancake lens assembly in a Z direction, an X-polarized light passes through the liquid crystal device two times and a Y-polarized light passes through the liquid crystal device one time.

Provided is a light guide plate for an image display device which uses lead-free glass, has excellent color reproducibility and a light weight, and may obtain a wide viewing angle. A light guide plate for an image display device, which guides image light inputted from an image display element and outputs the image light toward a user's pupil, is configured to be made of lead-free glass having a refractive index of 1.8 or more with respect to a wavelength of the image light, and to have internal transmittance of 0.6 or more with respect to a wavelength of 400 nm when a plate thickness is 10 mm.

A method for rendering light field images of a 3D scene in an HMD using an integral-imaging-based light field display. The method includes providing integral imaging (InI) optics including a microdisplay, the InI optics having a central depth plane (CDP) associated therewith; providing an eyepiece in optical communication with the InI optics, the eyepiece and the InI optics together providing InI-HMD optics; sampling the 3D scene using a simulated virtual array of cameras so that each camera captures a respective portion of the 3D scene to create a plurality of elemental images; and displaying the image data on the microdisplay.

An optical system including a light-guide optical element (LOE) with a first set of mutually-parallel, partially-reflecting surfaces and a second set of mutually-parallel, partially-reflecting surfaces at a different orientation from the first set. Both sets of partially-reflecting surfaces are located between a set of mutually-parallel major external surfaces. Image illumination introduced at a coupling-in location propagates along the LOE, is redirected by the first set of partially-reflecting surfaces towards the second set of partially-reflecting surfaces, where it is coupled out towards the eye of the user. The first set of partially-reflecting surfaces are implemented as partial surfaces located where needed for filling an eye-motion box with the required image. Additionally, or alternatively, spacing of the first set of partially-reflecting surfaces is varied across a first region of the LOE. Additional features relate to relative orientations of the projector and partially reflecting surfaces to improve compactness and achieve various adjustments.