Methods and systems for forming holographic gratings are described herein. The methods and systems may decrease the amount of haze produced during exposure of a holographic recording medium. In some embodiments, the methods and systems include a holographic recording medium; a master hologram containing a grating; and a light source and moveable deflector configured to diffract light through the master hologram into the holographic medium to form a holographic interference pattern. The moveable deflector is configured to move in a direction parallel to the extending direction of the grating. Advantageously, moving the light in this direction allows the holographic interference pattern to remain stationary while there is a spatio-temporal displacement and cancellation of unwanted intensity nonuniformities.

In an embodiment, an augmented reality display provides an expanded eye box and enlarged field of view through the use of holographic optical elements. In at least one example, an incoupling element directs an image into a waveguide, which transmits the image to a set of outcoupling gratings. In one example, a set of holographic optical elements opposite the outcoupling elements reflect the image to the user with an enlarged field of view while maintaining an expanded eye box.

A replicator assembly includes reflective, transmissive, and transparent elements. The reflective element receives and reflects a hologram of a HUD system. The transmissive element includes a partially transmissive portion that receives a reflection of the hologram from the reflective element, outputs N replications of the hologram, and reflects N−1 replications of the hologram. The partially transmissive portion is implemented as a continuous transmission neutral density filter across different phase regions. The phase regions of the partially transmissive portion correspond respectively to the N replications. N is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The reflective element reflects the N−1 replications of the hologram. The transparent element is disposed between the reflective and transmissive elements and guides the N replications of the hologram between the reflective and transmissive elements. The reflective, transmissive and transparent elements are implemented as a replicator and collectively provide the N replications of the hologram.

This application relates to a see-through head-mounted display using recorded substrate-guided holographic continuous lens (SGHCL) and a microdisplay with narrow spectral band source or laser illumination. The high diffraction efficiency of the volume SGHCL creates very high luminance of the virtual image.

The invention relates to a display device for representing two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional objects or scenes. The display device comprises at least one illumination device for emitting sufficiently coherent light, at least one spatial light modulation device for modulating incident light, and at least one optical system. The at least one optical system is provided for multiple imaging of the at least one spatial light modulation device and for generating virtual viewing windows in accordance with the number of images of the at least one spatial light modulation device. The individual images of the at least one spatial light modulation device are combined with one another as segments and form a field of view. The field of view comprises at least one high-resolution holographic segment and at least one low-resolution holographic segment.

There is provided a method of projection using an optical element (502,602) having spatially variant optical power. The method comprises combining Fourier domain data representative of a 2D image with Fourier domain data having a first lensing effect (604a) to produce first holographic data. Light is spatially modulated (504,603a) with the first holographic data to form a first spatially modulated light beam. The first spatially modulated light beam is redirected using the optical element (502,602) by illuminating a first region (607) of the optical element (602) with the first spatially modulated beam. The first lensing effect (604a) compensates for the optical power of the optical element in the first region (607). Advantageous embodiments relate to a head-up display for a vehicle using the vehicle windscreen (502,602) as an optical element to redirect light to the viewer (505,609).

Embodiments described herein relate to methods of forming gratings with different slant angles on a substrate and forming gratings with different slant angles on successive substrates using angled etch systems. The methods include positioning portions of substrates retained on a platen in a path of an ion beam. The substrates have a grating material disposed thereon. The ion beam is configured to contact the grating material at an ion beam angle θ relative to a surface normal of the substrates and form gratings in the grating material. The substrates are rotated about an axis of the platen resulting in rotation angles ϕ between the ion beam and a surface normal of the gratings. The gratings have slant angles θ′ relative to the surface normal of the substrates. The rotation angles ϕ selected by an equation ϕ=cos.sup.−1(tan(θ′)/tan(θ)).

Provided is a multi-image display apparatus including an image forming device configured to form a first image, a first polarization plate configured to transmit a first polarization component of the first image provided from the image forming device, a second polarization plate configured to transmit a second polarization component of a second image that is provided from a path different from the first image, the second polarization component being different from the first polarization component, a screen configured to reflect and diffuse the first image, and transmit the second image, and a polarization selective lens configured to focus the first image having the first polarization component, and transmit the second image having the second polarization component without refraction.

An optical device and an eye-tracking system to suppress a rainbow effect are provided. The optical device includes a grating. The grating includes at least one substrate and a grating structure coupled to the at least one substrate. The grating structure is configured to diffract an infrared light beam and transmit a visible light beam with a diffraction efficiency less than a predetermined threshold.

New augmented reality display systems are provided, some of which incorporate “shifted-reality” techniques. In some embodiments, an augmented reality display system includes a matrix of light-augmenting pixels within a variable-transmission, semi-transparent screen (e.g., an augmented reality headset, comprising a semi-transparent L.E.D. screen) and creates redirected, attenuated and augmented light and shading to form and alter virtual objects. In some embodiments with a plurality of angle-alterable, shiftable sources (e.g., light-focusing and -directing pixels), which aids in creating virtual, 3D objects of greater realism than conventional 3D imaging methods, and aids in reducing the appearance of other objects or conditions. In some aspects, existing images and objects viewed through a screen may be shifted in perspective for an observer, and enhanced and overlaid with effects and demonstrative information related to viewable objects and a surrounding environment. In other aspect, the system builds and accesses an object structure and materials library, and object inventory, to enrich a user's 3D experience using an augmented reality display system.