Abstract: Multiview displays include a reflective support structure located between a backlight and a screen. The backlight includes a plate light guide configured to couple out light that propagates within the plate light guide using multibeam elements. The reflective support structure reflects light incident on a portion of the surface that abuts the reflective support structure back into the plate light guide. The screen includes an array of multiview pixels configured to modulate coupled out light to create a multiview image.

Abstract: A light concentrating backlight includes a light guide to guide light and a diffraction grating configured to diffractively couple out a portion of the guided light as diffractively coupled-out light and to concentrate the diffractively coupled-out light into an eyebox. A near-eye display system includes the light guide and the diffraction grating, and further includes a light valve array configured to modulate the diffractively coupled-out light to form an image in the eyebox. The formed image is configured to be viewable within the eyebox by a user.

Abstract: A backlight and a multiview display employ a light guide having angle-preserving scattering feature and a tapered collimator. The angle-preserving scattering feature is configured to scatter a portion of guided light out of the light guide as emitted light. The tapered collimator is configured to collimate light provided by a light source as collimated light and to communicate the collimated light to the light guide to be guided as the guided light. The collimated light has a collimation factor configured to provide a predetermined angular spread of the guided light, the collimation factor being a function of a taper of the tapered collimator. The multiview display includes multiview pixels that include view pixels as well as the angle-preserving scattering feature that includes a multibeam element having a size that is comparable to a size of a view pixel.

Abstract: Multiview backlighting employs a plasmonic multibeam element having a color-tailored emission pattern to provide directional light beams corresponding to a plurality of different views of a multiview image. A multiview backlight includes a light guide configured to guide light as guided light and a plasmonic multibeam element. The plasmonic multibeam element includes a plasmonic material and is configured to provide emitted light having a color-tailored emission pattern from the guided light. The emitted light includes a plurality of directional light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to respective different view directions of a multiview display and the color-tailored emission pattern corresponds to an arrangement of color sub-pixels of a view pixel in the multiview display.

Abstract: Multiview backlighting having a color-tailored emission pattern provides directional light beams corresponding to a plurality of different views of a multiview image. A multiview backlight includes a light guide configured to guide light as guided light and a color-tailored multibeam element. The color-tailored multibeam element is configured to provide emitted light having the color-tailored emission pattern from the guided light. The emitted light includes a plurality of directional light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to respective different view directions of a multiview display. The color-tailored emission pattern corresponds to an arrangement of color sub-pixels of a view pixel in the multiview display.

Abstract: A light source includes an optical emitter configured to emit light toward an output aperture of the light source. The light source further includes a partially reflective layer at the output aperture. The partially reflective layer is configured to receive the emitted light from the optical emitter and to reflect a portion of the received light as reflected light. The light source additionally includes a scattering medium located between the partially reflective layer and the optical emitter. The scattering medium is configured to scatter the reflected light as scattered light having a different direction from the reflected light. A portion of the scattered light is redirected toward the partially reflective layer as recycled light to be emitted from the light source. A multiview backlight that employs the light source is also provided, along with a method for operating the light source.

Abstract: A multiview backlight includes a first array active emitters configured to provide a first plurality of directional light beams and a second array of active emitters configured to provide a second plurality of directional light beams. The second array of active emitters is interleaved between active emitters of the first array of active emitters. Further, directional light beams of each of the first and second directional light beam pluralities have directions corresponding to view directions of a multiview display. A multiview display further includes an array of light valves configured to modulate the directional light beams to display a multiview image. An image resolution of the multiview image is configured to be dynamically selectable according to operational mode.

Abstract: A multiview backlight and a multiview display employ active emitters configured to provide a plurality of light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to different view directions of the multiview display. A size of the active emitter is comparable to a size of a view pixel in the multiview display. A distance between active emitters is commensurate with a distance between adjacent multiview pixels of the multiview display. A multiview display further includes an array of light valves configured to modulate the directional light beams to display a multiview image.

Abstract: A multiview backlight and a multiview display employ a microlens to adjust directional light beams to have directions corresponding to respective different view directions of the multiview display. The multiview backlight includes a light guide configured to guide light as guided light, a multibeam element configured to scatter from the light guide a portion of the guided light as a plurality of directional light beams, and the microlens configured to adjust directions of the directional light beams. The multiview display further includes a multiview pixel configured to modulate the plurality of directional light beams and provide a plurality of different views of the multiview display, the microlens being between the multibeam element and the multiview pixel.

Abstract: Time-multiplexed backlighting includes a time-multiplexed light source to provide a light beam having a first non-zero propagation angle during a first time interval and a second non-zero propagation angle during a second time interval. A time-multiplexed backlight includes a light guide configured to guide the light beam and a diffraction grating configured to coupled out a portion of the guided light beam with a different principal angular direction in each of the first time interval and the second time interval. A multiview display includes the time-multiplexed light source and a multibeam backlight to provide coupled-out light beams during each of the first and second time intervals, wherein the principal angular directions of the coupled-out light beams correspond to different view directions of the multiview display.

Abstract: A mode-selectable backlight and privacy display employ directional scattering features to provide emitted light. The mode-selectable backlight includes a light guide, a first directional scattering feature to provide broad-angle emitted light from guided light having a first propagation direction within the light guide during a public mode, and a second directional scattering feature to provide directional emitted light from guided light having a second propagation direction within the light guide during a privacy mode. The directional emitted light the provided during the privacy mode is directed into a viewbox. The mode-selectable privacy display further includes light sources configured to provide the guided light having the first and second propagation directions along with an array of light valves configured to modulate the broad-angle emitted light as a public image and the directional emitted light as a private image visible within the viewbox.

Abstract: A multiview backlight and a multiview display employ a microprism multibeam element to emit a plurality of directional light beams having principal angular directions corresponding to view directions of the multiview display. The multiview backlight includes a light guide and the microprism multibeam element extending from a surface of the light guide. The microprism multibeam element has an input aperture configured to receive a portion of guided light and an output aperture configured to emit the plurality of directional light beams. The microprism multibeam element includes a microprism having an inclined sidewall configured to reflect the received guided light portion and provide the plurality of directional light beams. The multiview display includes the multiview backlight and an array of multiview pixels configured to provide different views of the multiview display from the plurality of directional light beams.

Abstract: A polarized backlight employs a light source configured to provide polarized light and a light guide to guide the polarized light. A polarization-preserving scattering feature optically coupled to the light guide is configured to scatter a portion of the guided polarized light out of the light guide as emitted polarized light. A polarization of the emitted polarized light is determined by a polarization of the guided polarized light.

Abstract: A multiview backlight and a multiview display employ a multibeam element configured to provide a tilted plurality of directional light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to view directions of a plurality of view in a view zone. The multiview backlight includes a light guide configured to guide light as guided light and the multibeam element configured to couple out a portion of the guided light as the tilted plurality of directional light beams. A tilt angle of the tilted directional light beam plurality is provided by an offset of the multibeam element and a corresponding multiview pixel. The multiview display includes an array of multibeam elements and an array of multiview pixels.

Abstract: Unidirectional grating-based backlighting includes a light guide and a diffraction grating at a surface of the light guide. The light guide is to guide a light beam and the diffraction grating is configured to couple out a portion of the guided light beam using diffractive coupling and to direct the coupled-out portion away from the light guide surface as a primary light beam at a principal angular direction. The unidirectional grating-based backlighting further includes a reflective island in the light guide between the light guide surface and an opposite surface of the light guide to reflectively redirect a diffractively produced, secondary light beam out of the light guide in a direction of the primary light beam.

Abstract: A bar collimator and a backlight system employ diffractive coupling to provide a collimated source of illumination to a backlight. The bar collimator includes a light guide and a diffraction grating disposed on a side of the light guide. The light guide is configured to guide light received from a light source as guided light. The diffraction grating is configured to diffractively couple out a portion of the guided light and to direct the diffractively coupled-out portion toward an input of a backlight as a collimated light having an extent corresponding to a length of the backlight input. A backlight system includes the bar collimator and further includes a light source and a backlight adjacent to the light guide of the bar collimator, the backlight being configured to receive collimated light from a diffraction grating of the bar collimator.

Abstract: A directional backlight, backlit display and method of directional backlight operation employ diffraction grating to provide emitted light collectively scattered out by diffraction gratings having a uniform intensity and angular spread. The directional backlight includes a light guide configured to guide plurality of guided light beams and a light source configured to provide the guided light beam plurality having the different radial directions. The directional backlight further includes an array of diffraction gratings configured to configured to scatter out a portion of a guided light beam of the guided light beam plurality as emitted light having an intensity and an angular spread that is uniform across the light guide surface. The backlit display further includes an array of light valves configured to modulate the emitted light to provide a displayed image.

Abstract: A diffractive multiview backlight and a multiview display employ an array of diffractive multibeam elements including a plurality of diffraction gratings configured to provide a plurality of light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to different view directions of the multiview display. The display includes multiview pixels that include sub-pixels. A size of the diffractive multibeam element of the array is comparable to a size of a sub-pixel in a multiview pixel of the multiview display.

Abstract: A head-up display and a three-dimensional (3D) head-up display system provide a plurality of different views of an image combined with a view of a physical environment to an eye box as a combined image to be viewed by a user. The head-up display includes a multibeam diffraction grating-based display configured to provide the different views and an optical combiner configured to relay the different views to the eye box along with the physical environment view. The different views provided by the 3D head-up display system represent different perspective views of a 3D image.

Abstract: A multiview backlight and a multiview display employ multibeam elements configured to provide a tilted plurality of light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to different view directions of a plurality of views of the multiview display. Further, the tilted plurality of light beams has a tilt toward a center of a view zone of the multiview display to provide converging views. The multiview backlight includes a light guide and an array of the multibeam elements. The multiview display further includes multiview pixels that include view pixels to modulate the tilted plurality of light beams having the tilt and the different principal angular directions.