MULTIPLEXED HOLOGRAM TILING IN A WAVEGUIDE DISPLAY

• US 20140168735A1
• Filed: 12/19/2012
• Published: 06/19/2014
• 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: Robbins, Steve, Bohn, David D., Yuan, Sheng, Nguyen, Ian
• Granted Patent: US 10,146,053 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/12
• 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

Embodiments related near-eye display devices having angularly multiplexed holograms are disclosed. One disclosed embodiment provides a near-eye display device including 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 comprising 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 a user of the near-eye display device, the waveguide comprising a holographic grating comprising a plurality of angularly multiplexed holograms; 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 light 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 a user of the near-eye display device, the waveguide comprising;

a holographic input grating comprising a first plurality of angularly multiplexed and spatially overlapping holograms, 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 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 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 holographic recordings.

14. A method of manufacturing a waveguide for a near-eye display device, the method comprising:

forming a first holographic recording by reproducing a master hologram at a light coupling interface of the waveguide via laser light directed at a first angle relative to the master hologram;

forming a second holographic recording by reproducing the master hologram light coupling interface for a waveguide of the near-eye display device at the light coupling interface in spatially overlapping relation to the first holographic recording via laser light directed at a second, different angle relative to the master hologram.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising positioning a mask between a laser providing the laser light and the master hologram, wherein openings of the mask are positioned in a same location during the forming of the first holographic recording and the forming of the second holographic recording.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising forming one or more additional holographic recordings, each additional holographic recording being recorded by laser beams having at a different incident angle relative to other holographic recordings.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the light coupling interface is an output grating, and the method further comprising forming an input grating comprising angularly multiplexed holograms.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the output grating is a first grating and the input grating is a second grating, the method further comprising forming a third grating.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the forming of the first holographic recording and the forming of the second holographic recording are performed simultaneously.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the forming of the first holographic recording and the forming of the second holographic recording are performed sequentially.