WAVEGUIDES WITH EMBEDDED COMPONENTS TO IMPROVE INTENSITY DISTRIBUTIONS
First Claim
1. An apparatus for use in replicating an image associated with an input-pupil to an output-pupil, the apparatus comprising:
- a planar optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, and also including an input-coupler, an intermediate-component and an output-coupler;
the input-coupler configured to couple light corresponding to the image associated with the input-pupil into the bulk-substrate of the waveguide and towards the intermediate-component;
the intermediate-component configured to perform one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and to direct the light corresponding to the image towards the output-coupler;
the output-coupler configured to perform the other one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and to couple the light corresponding to the image, which travels in the planar optical waveguide from the input-coupler to the output-coupler, out of the waveguide so that the light is output and imaged from the output-pupil;
the bulk-substrate including a first major planar surface and a second major planar surface opposite and parallel to the first major planar surface; and
a switchable liquid crystal (LC) layer, embedded between the first and second major planar surfaces, configured to cause light that is output by the output-coupler to have a more uniform intensity distribution compared to if the switchable LC layer were absent.
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Abstract
An apparatus for use in replicating an image associated with an input-pupil to an output-pupil includes a planar optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, and also including an input-coupler, an intermediate-component and an output-coupler. The input-coupler couples light corresponding to the image into the bulk-substrate and towards the intermediate-component. The intermediate-component performs horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and directs the light corresponding to the image towards the output-coupler. The output-coupler performs the other one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and couples light corresponding to the image, which travels from the input-coupler to the output-coupler, out of the waveguide. The apparatus further includes a volume layer, embedded between first and second major planar surfaces of the bulk-substrate, configured to cause light that is output by the output-coupler to have a more uniform intensity distribution compared to if the volume layer were absent.
104 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for use in replicating an image associated with an input-pupil to an output-pupil, the apparatus comprising:
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a planar optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, and also including an input-coupler, an intermediate-component and an output-coupler; the input-coupler configured to couple light corresponding to the image associated with the input-pupil into the bulk-substrate of the waveguide and towards the intermediate-component; the intermediate-component configured to perform one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and to direct the light corresponding to the image towards the output-coupler; the output-coupler configured to perform the other one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and to couple the light corresponding to the image, which travels in the planar optical waveguide from the input-coupler to the output-coupler, out of the waveguide so that the light is output and imaged from the output-pupil; the bulk-substrate including a first major planar surface and a second major planar surface opposite and parallel to the first major planar surface; and a switchable liquid crystal (LC) layer, embedded between the first and second major planar surfaces, configured to cause light that is output by the output-coupler to have a more uniform intensity distribution compared to if the switchable LC layer were absent. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus for use in replicating an image associated with an input-pupil to an output-pupil, the apparatus comprising:
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a planar optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, and also including an input-coupler, an intermediate-component and an output-coupler; the input-coupler configured to couple light corresponding to the image associated with the input-pupil into the bulk-substrate of the waveguide and towards the intermediate-component; the intermediate-component configured to perform one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and to direct the light corresponding to the image towards the output-coupler; the output-coupler configured to perform the other one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and to couple the light corresponding to the image, which travels in the planar optical waveguide from the input-coupler to the output-coupler, out of the waveguide so that the light is output and imaged from the output-pupil; the bulk-substrate including a first major planar surface and a second major planar surface opposite and parallel to the first major planar surface; wherein one or more of the input-coupler, the intermediate-component or the output-coupler comprises a hybrid SRG-VBG grating that includes a surface relief grating (SRG) and corresponding volume Bragg grating (VBG). - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A see-through, mixed reality display device system, comprising:
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a display engine configured to produce an image; and a planar optical waveguide including a bulk-substrate, and also including an input-coupler, an intermediate-component and an output-coupler; the input-coupler, the intermediate-component and the output-coupler comprising surface relief gratings (SRGs); the input-coupler configured to couple light corresponding to the image into the bulk-substrate of the waveguide and towards the intermediate-component; the intermediate-component configured to perform one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and to direct the light corresponding to the image towards the output-coupler; the output-coupler configured to perform the other one of horizontal or vertical pupil expansion and to couple the light corresponding to the image, which travels in the planar optical waveguide from the input-coupler to the output-coupler, out of the waveguide; the bulk-substrate includes a first major planar surface and a second major planar surface opposite and parallel to the first major planar surface; and further comprising a volume layer embedded between the first and second major planar surfaces of the bulk-substrate, the volume layer configured to cause light that is output by the output-coupler to have a more uniform intensity distribution compared to if the volume layer were absent. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification