A light module includes an excitation radiation source, first phosphor, a beam splitting apparatus configured to generate a first and a second partial optical path, with one of the two partial optical paths comprising the first phosphor and the other one including the excitation radiation, a combining apparatus to merge the first and second paths, and an exit where the radiation from the merged paths can be made available. The apparatus includes a first rotatably mounted filter wheel is arranged between the source and the first phosphor and has a first transmission region and a first reflection region for the excitation radiation, and a second rotatably mounted filter wheel, which has at least one second transmission region and a second reflection region for the excitation radiation.

A device for compacting dual laser beams is provided. The device comprises: a laser device configured to emit a first laser beam and a second laser beam in a first direction; and a mirror comprising a transparent body including: a front surface including a front reflective region and a front transmissive region; and a rear surface about parallel to the front surface, the rear surface comprising a rear reflective region, the regions arranged, relative to the laser device such that: the front reflective region is configured to reflect the first laser beam from the front surface in a second direction, the front transmissive region is configured to transmit the second laser beam therethrough, and the rear reflective region is configured to reflect the second laser beam, as transmitted through the front transmissive region, back through the front transmissive region in the second direction.

An optical system including at least a first lens, a partial reflector and a reflective polarizer is described. The optical system has an optical axis such that a light ray propagating along the optical axis passes through the first lens the partial reflector and the reflective polarizer without being substantially refracted. At least one major surface of the optical system is rotationally asymmetric about the optical axis. A major surface of the optical system may have a first portion defined by a first equation and a second portion adjacent the first portion defined by a different equation. The first lens may have a contoured edge adapted to be placed adjacent an eye of a viewer and substantially conform to the viewer's face.

A shaped reflective polarizer has different maximum sags in different directions and has an interior portion rotationally symmetric about a principle axis and a peripheral portion adjacent the interior portion and rotationally asymmetric about the principle axis. An optical system includes a partial reflector and an optical stack including an optical lens and the shaped reflective polarizer disposed on a curved major surface of the optical lens. The optical lens may have a contoured edge adapted to be placed adjacent an eye of a viewer and substantially conform to the viewer's face.

Optical systems including an image surface and an exit surface are described. First second and third optical lenses, a partial reflector, a multilayer reflective polarizer and a retarder are disposed between the image surface and the exit surface. At least one location on at least one layer of the multilayer reflective polarizer is substantially uniaxially oriented. Each chief light ray that passes from the image surface to the exit surface is incident on the multilayer reflective polarizer with an angle of incidence less than about 30 degrees. The optical system may include a plurality of major surfaces disposed between the image surface and the exit surface where each major surface is convex toward the image surface and where at least six different major surfaces have six different convexities.

A light beam measurement device includes: a polarization measurement unit including a first measurement beam splitter provided on an optical path of a laser beam and configured to measure a polarization state of the laser beam having been partially reflected by the first measurement beam splitter; a beam profile measurement unit including a second measurement beam splitter provided on the optical path of the laser beam and configured to measure a beam profile of the laser beam having been partially reflected by the second measurement beam splitter; and a laser beam-directional stability measurement unit configured to measure a stability in a traveling direction of the laser beam, while the first measurement beam splitter and the second measurement beam splitter are made of a material containing CaF.sub.2.

Systems and methods that employ a near-eye display system including an optical assembly are described. The optical assembly may include a head-mounted display device worn by a user in which the head-mounted display device adapted to house an image projecting device and an optical assembly. The optical assembly may include, for at least one eyepiece, a first flat filter stack operable to be oriented in a first direction. and a second flat filter stack operable to be oriented in a second direction. The near-eye display system assembly may also include a display panel adapted to receive image content from the image projecting device, wherein the display panel is adapted to be oriented in the second direction.

There is disclosed an optical device, including a light-transmitting substrate having an input aperture, an output aperture, at least two major surfaces and edges, an optical element for coupling light waves into the substrate by total internal reflection, at least one partially reflecting surface located between the two major surfaces of the light-transmitting substrate for partially reflecting light waves out of the substrate, a first transparent plate, having at least two major surfaces, one of the major surfaces of the transparent plate being optically attached to a major surface of the light-transmitting substrate defining an interface plane, and a beam-splitting coating applied at the interface plane between the substrate and the transparent plate, wherein light waves coupled inside the light-transmitting substrate are partially reflected from the interface plane and partially pass the through.

Methods of making optical films and optical stacks are described. A method of making an optical lens molded to a first curved optical film includes providing a first optical film including alternating first and second polymeric layers; providing a thermoform tool having a curved surface; heating and conforming the first optical film to the curved surface to form a first curved optical film; and molding an optical lens onto the first curved optical film.

A head-mounted display including a first optical system is described. The first optical system includes a partial reflector and a multilayer reflective polarizer disposed adjacent to and spaced apart from the partial reflector. The multilayer reflective polarizer is curved about orthogonal first and second axes and includes at least one layer that is substantially optically uniaxial at at least one location. Each chief ray that passes through the first optical system is first incident on the multilayer reflective polarizer at an angle of incidence less than 30 degrees.