Multiplexed hologram tiling in a waveguide display

• US 10,146,053 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2012
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Yuan, Sheng, Nguyen, Ian, Robbins, Steve, Bohn, David D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, Stephone B
• Assistant Examiner(s): DABBI, JYOTSNA V
• Application Number:
  US13/720,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20140168735A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,176 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0174 holographic
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0103 comprising holographic elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1857 using exposure or etching means, e.g. holography, photolithography, exposure to electron or ion beams
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0248 Volume holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/202 Contact copy when the reconstruction beam for the master H1 also serves as reference beam for the copy H2
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/265 Angle multiplexing; Multichannel holograms G03H1/268 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/28 superimposed holograms only
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2207 Spatial filter, e.g. for suppressing higher diffraction orders
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2239 Enlarging the viewing window
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2242 Multiple viewing windows

Abstract

Near-eye display devices having angularly multiplexed holograms are disclosed. One example includes an image source, a waveguide, and a controller. The waveguide is configured to propagate light received the image source to a user of the near-eye display device, and includes a holographic grating including a plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms. The controller is configured to control display of an image via the image source.

Claims

1. A near-eye display device, comprising:

an image source;

a waveguide configured to propagate light from the image source to a field of view of the near-eye display device, the waveguide comprising a holographic grating comprising a plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms, each hologram of the plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms having an angular bandwidth that is narrower than a range of angles of light from the image source to provide a field of view narrower than the range of angles of light from the image source, each hologram of the plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms being configured to diffract an image from the image source,

the plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms configured to simultaneously diffract light received from the image source to produce angularly separated diffraction peaks from the light received from the image source, such that

the plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms has a combined angular bandwidth greater than the angular bandwidth of each individual hologram of the plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms to provide a combined field of view with a wider angular width than the field of view of each hologram of the plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms individually; and

a controller configured to control display of an image via the image source.

2. The near-eye display device of claim 1, wherein the waveguide further comprises one or more additional holographic gratings, each additional holographic grating comprising a plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms.

3. The near-eye display device of claim 1, wherein the image source comprises a plurality of laser light emitting diodes.

4. The near-eye display device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms includes a first hologram and a second hologram, the first hologram being angularly separated from the second hologram such that an angular bandwidth of the first hologram does not overlap with an angular bandwidth of the second hologram.

5. The near-eye display device of claim 1, wherein each holographic grating includes three or more angularly multiplexed holograms.

6. The near-eye display device of claim 1, wherein a field of view of the near-eye display device is 20 degrees or greater.

7. The near-eye display device of claim 1, wherein the waveguide includes a multiplexed holographic grating for each color of light from the image source.

8. A near-eye display device, comprising:

an image source;

a waveguide configured to propagate light from the image source to a field of view of the near-eye display device, the waveguide comprising;

a holographic input grating comprising a first plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms, each hologram of the first plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms being configured to diffract an image from the image source and having an angular bandwidth that is narrower than a range of angles of light from the image source to provide a field of view with a narrower angular width than the range of angles from the image source, the first plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms being configured to simultaneously diffract light received from the image source to produce angularly separated diffraction peaks from the light received from the image source, such that the first plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms has a combined angular bandwidth greater than the angular bandwidth of each individual hologram of the plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms to provide a combined field of view with a wider angular width than the field of view provided by each hologram individually, and

a holographic output grating comprising a second plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms; and

a controller configured to control display of an image via the image source.

9. The near-eye display device of claim 8, wherein the waveguide further comprises a holographic fold grating comprising a third plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms.

10. The near-eye display device of claim 8, wherein the image source is a visible light array.

11. The near-eye display device of claim 8, wherein the first plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms includes a first hologram and a second hologram, the first hologram being angularly separated from the second hologram such that at least a portion of an angular bandwidth of the first hologram does not overlap with an angular bandwidth of the second hologram.

12. The near-eye display device of claim 8, wherein a field of view of the near-eye display device is 20 degrees or greater.

13. The near-eye display device of claim 8, wherein each of the holographic input grating and the holographic output grating includes three or more angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holographic recordings.