Transparent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) can be used as light-emitting pixels in a near-eye display for augmented reality applications. The light from these pixels can be switchably tuned and/or steered with tunable beam-steering and focusing elements, also called tunable micro-lenses. These tunable micro-lenses are arranged in an array and mated to the array of pixels, for example, by embedding in a spectacle lens. The tunable micro-lenses use fast-switching half-wave plates to selectively focus and/or tilt light from the pixels. By switching the light from the pixels between resolvable positions/angles at a rate faster than the flicker fusion threshold (e.g., 60 Hz), the tunable micro-lenses can effectively double the apparent resolution of the near-eye display. And by switching between focusing and non-focusing states at the same rate, the tunable micro-lenses can effectively superimpose the virtual images from the pixels on the real-world image visible through the pixels.

When the speed of head movement exceeds the processing capability of the system, a reduced depiction is displayed. As one example, the resolution may be reduced using coarse pixel shading in order to create a new depiction at the speed of head movement. In accordance with another embodiment, only the region the user is looking at is processed in full resolution and the remainder of the depiction is processed at lower resolution. In still another embodiment, the background depictions may be blurred or grayed out to reduce processing time.

When the speed of head movement exceeds the processing capability of the system, a reduced depiction is displayed. As one example, the resolution may be reduced using coarse pixel shading in order to create a new depiction at the speed of head movement. In accordance with another embodiment, only the region the user is looking at is processed in full resolution and the remainder of the depiction is processed at lower resolution. In still another embodiment, the background depictions may be blurred or grayed out to reduce processing time.

Head-mounted virtual and augmented reality display systems include a light projector with one or more emissive micro-displays having a first resolution and a pixel pitch. The projector outputs light forming frames of virtual content having at least a portion associated with a second resolution greater than the first resolution. The projector outputs light forming a first subframe of the rendered frame at the first resolution, and parts of the projector are shifted using actuators, such that physical positions of light output for individual pixels occupy gaps between the old locations of light output for individual pixels. The projector then outputs light forming a second subframe of the rendered frame. The first and second subframes are outputted within the flicker fusion threshold. Advantageously, an emissive micro-display (e.g., micro-LED display) having a low resolution can form a frame having a higher resolution by using the same light emitters to function as multiple pixels of that frame.

Methods and systems for depth-based foveated rendering in the display system are disclosed. The display system may be an augmented reality display system configured to provide virtual content on a plurality of depth planes using different wavefront divergence. Some embodiments include monitoring eye orientations of a user of a display system based on detected sensor information. A fixation point is determined based on the eye orientations, the fixation point representing a three-dimensional location with respect to a field of view. Location information of virtual objects to present is obtained, with the location information indicating three-dimensional positions of the virtual objects. Resolutions of at least one virtual object is adjusted based on a proximity of the at least one virtual object to the fixation point. The virtual objects are presented to a user by display system with the at least one virtual object being rendered according to the adjusted resolution.

The system and method for super resolution processing at long standoff distances in real-time. The system collects a series of image frames and estimated the shift, rotation, and zoom parameters between each of the image frames. A matrix is generated and then an inversion is applied to the matrix to produce a super resolution image of an area of interest while mitigating the effect of any bad pixels on image quality. In some cases, the area of interest is user-defined and in some cases image chips are provided by tracking software. A fast steering mirror can be used to steer and/or dither the focal plane array.

A method and system for increasing dynamic digitized wavefront resolution, i.e., the density of output beamlets, can include receiving a single collimated source light beam and producing multiple output beamlets spatially offset when out-coupled from a waveguide. The multiple output beamlets can be obtained by offsetting and replicating a collimated source light beam. Alternatively, the multiple output beamlets can be obtained by using a collimated incoming source light beam having multiple input beams with different wavelengths in the vicinity of the nominal wavelength of a particular color. The collimated incoming source light beam can be in-coupled into the eyepiece designed for the nominal wavelength. The input beams with multiple wavelengths take different paths when they undergo total internal reflection in the waveguide, which produces multiple output beamlets.

A near eye optical display includes a waveguide comprising a first surface and a second surface, an input coupler, a fold grating, and an output grating. The input coupler is configured to receive collimated light from a display source and to cause the light to travel within the waveguide via total internal reflection between the first surface and the second surface to the fold grating; the fold grating is configured to provide pupil expansion in a first direction and to direct the light to the output grating via total internal reflection between the first surface and the second surface; and the output grating is configured to provide pupil expansion in a second direction different than the first direction and to cause the light to exit the waveguide from the first surface or the second surface.

A display device and a head-mounted display apparatus are provided. The display device comprises a display unit and a first optical module. The display unit further comprises a plurality of display areas, and each display area includes a plurality of pixel units. Display colors of pixel units in each display area are the same, and the display colors of pixel units in different display areas are different. The first optical module is configured to converge and overlap image light of the plurality of display areas to form a display image.

A viewing device is disclosed. The device includes a projector that projects a first imaged light, and a polarizing beam splitter plate that receives the projected first imaged light from the projector and reflects the received first imaged light for viewing by a viewer. The polarizing beam splitter plate also receives a second image and transmits the second image for viewing by the viewer. The polarizing beam splitter plate includes a substrate and a multilayer optical film reflective polarizer that is adhered to the substrate. The reflective polarizer substantially reflects polarized light having a first polarization state and substantially transmits polarized light having a second polarization state perpendicular to the first polarization state. The polarizing beam splitter plate includes a first outermost major surface and an opposing second outermost major surface that makes an angle of less than about 20 degrees with the first outermost major surface. By enhancing the flatness of the polarizer, the resolution can be improved. The polarizing beam splitter plate reflects the received first imaged light towards the viewer with the reflected first imaged light having an effective pixel resolution of less than 12 microns.