WAVEGUIDES
First Claim
1. A waveguide apparatus, comprising:
- a substrate of light transmissive material;
at least one layer arranged within the substrate of material, the layer being arranged to define separate channels within the substrate of material, the channels being arranged to transmit light of respective predefined wavelengths under total internal reflection; and
a grating associated with each channel, wherein each grating is arranged to diffract a portion of light incident thereon out of the substrate of material and to allow the remainder of the light incident thereon to be transmitted in its associated channel under total internal reflection.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A projection display 210 arranged to display an image to an observer 212 use waveguide techniques to generate a display defining a large exit pupil at the point of the observer 212 and a large field of view, whilst using a small image-providing light source device. The projection display 210 uses two parallel waveguides 214, 216 made from a light transmissive material. One waveguide 214 stretches the horizontal pupil of the final display and the other waveguide 216 stretches the vertical pupil of the final display and acts as a combiner through which the observer 212 views an outside world scene 220 and the image overlaid on the scene 220. In a colour display, each primary colour is transmitted within a separate channel R, G, B.
-
Citations
16 Claims
-
1. A waveguide apparatus, comprising:
-
a substrate of light transmissive material; at least one layer arranged within the substrate of material, the layer being arranged to define separate channels within the substrate of material, the channels being arranged to transmit light of respective predefined wavelengths under total internal reflection; and a grating associated with each channel, wherein each grating is arranged to diffract a portion of light incident thereon out of the substrate of material and to allow the remainder of the light incident thereon to be transmitted in its associated channel under total internal reflection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A waveguide apparatus, as claimed in 1, wherein the grating is a holographic optical element.
-
9. A projection display, for displaying an image to an observer, comprising:
-
a first waveguide element arranged to be light transmissive; an image-providing light source device arranged to generate an image and to inject image bearing light into the first waveguide element; the first waveguide element being arranged to direct the image bearing light internally along the first waveguide element and through which the image bearing light is outputted from the first waveguide element; a second waveguide element arranged to be light transmissive and transparent and is arranged to receive the image bearing light from the first waveguide element and to direct the image bearing light along the second waveguide element; the second waveguide element is further arranged to output image bearing light from the second waveguide element towards an observer; and wherein the first waveguide element includes a substrate of material having at least one layer arranged within the substrate of material, the layer being arranged to define separate channels within the substrate of material, the channels being arranged to transmit light in respective predefined wavelengths and a first grating associated with each channel, wherein each first grating is arranged to diffract a portion of light incident thereon out of the substrate of material and to allow the remainder of the light incident thereon to be transmitted in its associated channel under total internal reflection; wherein the second waveguide element includes a substrate of material having at least one layer arranged within the substrate of material, the layer being arranged to define separate channels within the substrate of material the channels being arranged to transmit light in respective predefined wavelengths under total internal reflection and a second grating associated with each channel, wherein each second grating is arranged to diffract light incident thereon to be transmitted in its associated channel under total internal reflection; and wherein the second waveguide element also includes a third grating associated with each channel, wherein each third grating is arranged to diffract a portion of light incident thereon out of the substrate of material towards the observer and to allow the remainder of the light incident thereon to be transmitted in its associated channel under total internal reflection. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16-17. -17. (canceled)
Specification