Several unique configurations for interferometric recording of volumetric phase diffractive elements with relatively high angle diffraction for use in waveguides are disclosed. Separate layer EPE and OPE structures produced by various methods may be integrated in side-by-side or overlaid constructs, and multiple such EPE and OPE structures may be combined or multiplexed to exhibit EPE/OPE functionality in a single, spatially-coincident layer. Multiplexed structures reduce the total number of layers of materials within a stack of eyepiece optics, each of which may be responsible for displaying a given focal depth range of a volumetric image. Volumetric phase type diffractive elements are used to offer properties including spectral bandwidth selectivity that may enable registered multi-color diffracted fields, angular multiplexing capability to facilitate tiling and field-of-view expansion without crosstalk, and all-optical, relatively simple prototyping compared to other diffractive element forms, enabling rapid design iteration.

The present invention features VHOEs with expanded acceptance angle ranges as well as various systems and methods for fabricating VHOEs with expanded acceptance angle ranges. The VHOE with expanded acceptance angle range may include two or more individual Bragg gratings. In preferred embodiments, the two or more individual Bragg gratings have the same diffraction geometry but with shifted Bragg conditions. Having the same diffraction geometry means when light is incident on the VHOE including two or more individual Bragg gratings, the diffracted light from each of the Bragg gratings is co-linear or overlapping with the diffracted light from the other Bragg gratings. The Bragg condition for each of the Bragg gratings are shifted with respect to each neighboring Bragg grating by an amount up to the acceptance angle range of each individual Bragg grating.

Several unique configurations for interferometric recording of volumetric phase diffractive elements with relatively high angle diffraction for use in waveguides are disclosed. Separate layer EPE and OPE structures produced by various methods may be integrated in side-by-side or overlaid constructs, and multiple such EPE and OPE structures may be combined or multiplexed to exhibit EPE/OPE functionality in a single, spatially-coincident layer. Multiplexed structures reduce the total number of layers of materials within a stack of eyepiece optics, each of which may be responsible for displaying a given focal depth range of a volumetric image. Volumetric phase type diffractive elements are used to offer properties including spectral bandwidth selectivity that may enable registered multi-color diffracted fields, angular multiplexing capability to facilitate tiling and field-of-view expansion without crosstalk, and all-optical, relatively simple prototyping compared to other diffractive element forms, enabling rapid design iteration.

A light projection apparatus is provided comprising: a source of light; a switchable grating on a first substrate; and a diffractive optical element. Light is diffracted at least once by the switchable grating and is diffracted at least once by the DOE.

A method for producing a computer-generated hologram including producing a reference beam, producing an object beam, applying computer-generated information regarding the hologram to the object beam, overlapping the object beam and the reference beam on or in a light-sensitive recording medium in order to apply the hologram by exposure, wherein several portions of the light-sensitive recording medium are exposed, one after the other, to the object beam and the reference beam simultaneously in order to produce a plurality of sub-holograms, wherein the angle of incidence at which the reference beam hits the surface of a first portion of the recording medium is different from the angle of incidence at which the reference beam hits the surface of a second portion of the recording medium. A change in the angle of incidence of the reference beam is achieved by changing the point of incidence of the reference beam on a lens.

A holographic image film, and a holographic image recording method and reconstruction method are provided. The holographic image recording method includes a preparation step, an irradiation step and a recording step. The preparation step includes stacking a holographic negative film on a transparent substrate. The irradiation step includes emitting object light and reference light. The reference light is emitted into the transparent substrate and undergoes multiple times of total reflections in a thickness of the transparent substrate to form total internal reflected light. The recording step includes generating a holographic image interference line by a mutual interference between the total internal reflected light and the object light, and recording the holographic image interference line on the holographic negative film in a photosensitive manner.

A holographic optical element and a method for producing the same are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a method includes illuminating a first surface of a photopolymer resin layer, where the photopolymer resin layer comprises a photopolymer resin, illuminating a second surface of the photopolymer resin layer through a retardation layer disposed in the second surface, wherein the second surface is opposite the first surface, and recording an interference pattern in the photopolymer resin layer, wherein the interference pattern is created by interference between the first parallel laser beam and the second parallel laser beam. The holographic optical element is produced using a retardation layer to prevent an unwanted interference pattern from being formed in the process of recording an interference pattern in a photopolymer resin layer.

Mastering systems and methods of fabricating waveguides and waveguide devices using such mastering systems are described. Mastering systems for fabricating holographic waveguides can include using a master to control the application of energy (e.g. a laser, light, or magnetic beam) onto a liquid crystal substrate to fabricate a holographic waveguide into the liquid crystal substrate. Mastering systems for fabricating holographic waveguides in accordance with embodiments of the invention can include a variety of features. These features include, but are not limited to: chirp for single input beam copy (near i.e. hybrid contact copy), dual chirped gratings (for input and output), zero order grating for transmittance control, alignment reference gratings, 3:1 construction, position adjustment tooling to enable rapid alignment, optimization of lens and window thickness for multiple RKVs simultaneously, and avoidance of other orders and crossover of the diffraction beam.

Improvements to gratings for use in waveguides and methods of producing them are described herein. Deep surface relief gratings (SRGs) may offer many advantages over conventional SRGs, an important one being a higher S-diffraction efficiency. In one embodiment, deep SRGs can be implemented as polymer surface relief gratings or evacuated periodic structures (EPSs). EPSs can be formed by first recording a holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) periodic structure. Removing the liquid crystal from the cured periodic structure provides a polymer surface relief grating. Polymer surface relief gratings have many applications including for use in waveguide-based displays.

Improvements to gratings for use in waveguides and methods of producing them are described herein. Deep surface relief gratings (SRGs) may offer many advantages over conventional SRGs, an important one being a higher S-diffraction efficiency. In one embodiment, deep SRGs can be implemented as polymer surface relief gratings or evacuated periodic structures (EPSs). EPSs can be formed by first recording a holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) periodic structure. Removing the liquid crystal from the cured periodic structure provides a polymer surface relief grating. Polymer surface relief gratings have many applications including for use in waveguide-based displays.