Transparent waveguide display providing upper and lower fields of view with uniform light extraction

• US 11,320,571 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 05/03/2022
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DigiLens Inc, Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Brown, Robert D., Grant, Alastair John, Hendrick, Wyatt L., Popovich, Milan Momcilo, Stanley, James H., Waldern, Jonathan David
• Primary Examiner(s): Jordan, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US13/844,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20140140653A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,336 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0125 Field-of-view increase by wavefront division
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/015 involving arrangement aiming to get less bulky devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/18 Diffraction gratings holographic optical elements G02B5/32, G03H; integrally combined with optical fibres G02B6/02057; for coupling light guides G02B6/34; integrally combined with optical integrated light guides G02B6/12; grating systems G02B27/44
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0033 Means for improving the coupling-out of light from the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0076 Stacked arrangements of multiple light guides of the same or different cross-sectional area

Abstract

One embodiment provides an apparatus for displaying an image comprising: a first optical substrate comprising at least one waveguide layer configured to propagate light in a first direction, wherein the at least one waveguide layer of the first optical substrate comprises at least one grating lamina configured to extract the light from the first substrate along the first direction; and a second optical substrate comprising at least one waveguide layer configured to propagate the light in a second direction, wherein the at least one waveguide layer of the second optical substrate comprises at least one grating lamina configured to extract light from the second substrate along the second direction; wherein the at least one grating lamina of at least one of the first and second optical substrates comprises an SBG in a passive mode.

Claims

1. An apparatus for displaying an image comprising:

a first input image node providing first image modulated light, the first image modulated light including image content associated with a first half of a display field of view;

a second input image node providing second image modulated light, the second image modulated light including image content associated with a second half of the display field of view;

a first beam expander comprising;

a first expander optical substrate;

one or more first expander input Bragg gratings to couple the first image modulated light into one or more waveguide layers of the first expander optical substrate for propagation along a first direction; and

one or more first expander output Bragg gratings in the one or more waveguide layers of the first expander optical substrate, wherein the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings extend along the first direction to progressively extract portions of the first image modulated light out of an output face of the first expander optical substrate, wherein the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings have increasing diffraction efficiency along the first direction to provide uniform extraction of the first image modulated light out of the output face of the first expander optical substrate along the first direction;

a second beam expander comprising;

a second expander optical substrate;

one or more second expander input Bragg gratings in the second expander optical substrate configured to couple the second image modulated light into one or more waveguide layers of the second expander optical substrate and to propagate the second image modulated light along a second direction parallel to the first direction; and

one or more second expander output Bragg gratings in the one or more waveguide layers of the second expander optical substrate, wherein the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings extend along the second direction and progressively extract portions of the second image modulated light along the second direction out of an output face of the second expander optical substrate, wherein the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings have increasing diffraction efficiency along the second direction to provide uniform extraction of the second image modulated light out of the output face of the second expander optical substrate along the second direction;

a first display substrate comprising;

a first display optical substrate;

one or more first display input Bragg gratings in the first display optical substrate configured to couple the first image modulated light from the first beam expander into one or more waveguide layers of the first display optical substrate and to propagate the first image modulated light along a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions; and

one or more first display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings in the one or more waveguide layers of the first display optical substrate, wherein the one or more first display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings extend along the third direction to progressively extract portions of the first image modulated light along the third direction out of an output face of the first display optical substrate, wherein the one or more first display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings have increasing diffraction efficiency along the third direction to provide uniform extraction of the input light out of the output face of the first display optical substrate along the third direction, wherein the one or more first display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings direct the first image modulated light along angles associated with the first half of the display field of view, wherein the first image modulated light from the one or more first display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings is linearly polarized;

a second display substrate comprising;

a second display optical substrate;

one or more second display input Bragg gratings in the second display optical substrate configured to couple the second image modulated light from the second beam expander into one or more waveguide layers of the second display optical substrate and to propagate the second image modulated light along the third direction; and

one or more second display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings in the one or more waveguide layers of the second display optical substrate, wherein the one or more second display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings extend along the third direction to progressively extract portions of the second image modulated light along the third direction out of an output face of the second display optical substrate, wherein the one or more second display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings have increasing diffraction efficiency along the third direction to provide uniform extraction of the input light out of the output face of the second display optical substrate along the third direction, wherein the one or more second display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings direct the second image modulated light along angles associated with the second half of the display field of view, wherein the first and second display substrates are aligned to provide that the first image modulated light from the first display substrate passes through the second display substrate; and

one or more waveplates between the one or more first display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings and the one or more second display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings to modify a polarization of the first image modulated light to prevent diffraction of the first image modulated light by the one or more second display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings and the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings include alternating stripes of Bragg gratings with different prescriptions.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the alternating stripes of Bragg gratings are angled at 45 degrees relative to the first or the second directions.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings, the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings, the one or more first display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings, or the one or more second display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings have varying thickness along the respective direction of light propagation to provide for uniform extraction.

5. A device comprising the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the device is a part of a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD).

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first direction is opposite to the second direction.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first direction the same as the second direction.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more first expander input Bragg gratings, the one or more second expander input Bragg gratings, the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings, or the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings include switchable Bragg gratings.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more first expander input Bragg gratings, the one or more second expander input Bragg gratings, the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings, and the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings include passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more first expander input Bragg gratings, the one or more second expander input Bragg gratings, the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings, and the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings include non-switching Bragg gratings recorded in a holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) material in at least one of forward or reverse mode.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein at least one of the one or more first expander input Bragg gratings, the one or more second expander input Bragg gratings, the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings, or the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings include an active switchable Bragg grating.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more waveplates comprise:

a half-wave film located between the first and second display substrates.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more waveplates comprise:

a quarter-wave film located on the output face of the first display substrate; and

a quarter-wave film located in an input face of the second display substrate opposite the output face of the first display substrate.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first image modulated light and the second image modulated light comprise monochrome light having a common wavelength.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first image modulated light or the second image-modulated light comprises multi-wavelength light.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more first expander input Bragg gratings and the one or more first expander output Bragg gratings are complementary, wherein the one or more second expander input Bragg gratings and the one or more second expander output Bragg gratings complementary, wherein the one or more first display input Bragg gratings and the one or more first display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings are complementary, wherein the one or more second display input Bragg gratings and the one or more second display output passive-mode switchable Bragg gratings are complementary.