Abstract: A directional backlight is disclosed. The directional backlight has a plurality of light sources to generate a plurality of input planar lightbeams. The plurality of input planar lightbeams illuminates a directional backplane that has a plurality of directional pixels to scatter the plurality of input planar lightbeams into a plurality of directional lightbeams. Each directional lightbeam has a direction and angular spread controlled by characteristics of a directional pixel in the plurality of directional pixels. The directional backlight can be used to generate a 3D image by specifying the characteristics of the directional pixels in the directional backplane.

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.

Abstract: A multiview backlight and a multiview display employ multibeam elements 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 multibeam element 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 head-tracking multiview display and a head-tracking multiview display system selectively provide a primary set of views and a secondary view representing a perspective view of a scene that is angularly adjacent to the primary view set. The head-tracking multiview display includes a multibeam backlight configured to provide a plurality of light beams corresponding to different view directions of a multiview image and a light valve array configured to modulate the light beams to provide a plurality of views including the primary view set and the secondary view. The head-tracking multiview display system further includes a head tracker configured to determine a position of a user. At a first determined position the head-tracking multiview display is configured to provide the primary view set and at a second determined position the head-tracking multiview display being configured to provide the augmented view set.

Abstract: A directional backlight has a directional backplane that has a plurality of directional pixels configured to scatter a plurality of input planar lightbeams into a plurality of directional lightbeams. Each directional lightbeam has a direction and angular spread controlled by characteristics of a directional pixel in the plurality of directional pixels. A modulation layer having a plurality of modulators configured to modulate the plurality of directional lightbeams. The directional backlight is configured to generate a 3D image with multiple views by specifying the characteristics of the directional pixels in the directional backplane.

Abstract: A high contrast grating optical modulation includes an optical modulator at a front surface of a substrate to modulate received light. The high contrast grating optical modulation further includes a high contrast grating (HCG) lens adjacent to a back surface of the substrate opposite to the front surface to focus incident light onto the optical modulator. The substrate is transparent to operational wavelengths of the focused incident light and the modulated light.

Abstract: Compact photonics platforms and methods of forming the same are provided. An example of a compact photonics platform includes a layered structure having an active region along a longitudinal axis, a facet having an angle no less than a critical angle formed at at least one longitudinal end of the active region, and a waveguide having at least one grating coupler positioned in alignment with the angled facet to couple light out to or in from the waveguide.

Abstract: In a supersampling technique, an adjacent pair of pixels in a three-dimensional (3D) electronic display is driven based on angular combinations. In particular, a pixel in the pair is driven by an angular combination of a pixel in a 3D view of a 3D image and at least one product of a pixel in an intermediate 3D view and an associated weight. Moreover, the 3D views applied to the pair have different associated angular ranges with different principal angular directions, and the intermediate 3D view has an associated intermediate angular range with an intermediate principal angular direction that is between the principal angular directions. When viewing the 3D electronic display along a principal angular direction in the principal directions of the 3D view, a viewer sees the 3D view, and when viewing the 3D electronic display along the intermediate principal angular direction, the viewer sees the intermediate 3D view.

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: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to optical devices comprising planar lenses. In one aspect, an optical device includes two or more planar lenses, and one or more dielectric layers. Each planar lens includes a non-periodic, sub-wavelength grating layer, and each dielectric layer is disposed adjacent to at least one planar lens to form a solid structure. The two or more planar lenses are substantially parallel and arranged to have a common optical axis so that light transmitted through the optical device substantially parallel to the optical axis is refracted by the two or more planar lenses.

Abstract: A near-eye display and a binocular near-eye display system provide a plurality of different views of an image to different locations within an eye box to impart focus depth cues to a user. The near-eye display includes a multibeam diffraction grating-based display configured to provide the different views and an optical system configured to relay the different views to the different locations within the eye box. The binocular near-eye display system includes a pair of the multibeam diffraction grating-based displays and a binocular optical system configured to provide and relay a stereoscopic image pair representing a three-dimensional (3D) scene to a corresponding pair of laterally displaced eye boxes.

Abstract: A mode-controlled laser system includes an active region to generate optical energy in response to an electric signal. The system also includes a mirror to resonate the optical energy in an optical cavity. The system also includes a HCG mode control reflector arranged in the optical cavity to control the resonated optical energy into a substantially non-Gaussian intensity profile. The resonated optical energy can be emitted as an optical signal having the substantially non-Gaussian intensity profile.

Abstract: A multiview camera and multiview imaging system provide a plurality of different cropped images corresponding to a virtual screen located in a scene. The multiview camera includes a plurality of cameras configured to capture different images of a scene that have an overlapping portion in common. The multiview camera further includes an image processor configured to provide cropped images from the captured images according to a cropping window defined within the overlapping portion. The cropping window corresponds to a virtual screen located within the scene. An arrangement of the cameras corresponds to an arrangement of views of a multiview display configured to display the cropped images. The multiview imaging system further includes the multiview display.

Abstract: Multiview displays include a backlight and a screen used to form a plurality of multiview pixels. Each multiview pixel includes a plurality of sets of light valves. The backlight includes a light source optically coupled to a plate light guide configured with a plurality of multibeam elements. Each multibeam element corresponds to a set of light valves and is spatially offset with respect to a center of the set of light valves toward a center of the multiview pixel. The plurality of multibeam elements are also configured to couple out light from the plate light guide with different angles and angular offsets such that at least a portion of the coupled-out light beams interleave and propagate in different view directions of the multiview display.

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 head-tracking multiview display and a system provide a plurality of views of a scene as a multiview image. The plurality of views includes a set of primary views of the scene and a secondary view representing a perspective view of the scene that is angularly adjacent to the primary view set. The display and system are multibeam diffraction grating-based and configured to selectively provide the primary view set and an augmented set of views that includes the secondary view and a subset of the views of the primary view set based on a tracked position of a user or a user's head. At a first position the display is configured to provide the primary view set and at a second position the display is configured to provide the augmented view set.

Abstract: Multiview displays include a backlight and a screen used to form a plurality of multiview pixels. Each multiview pixel includes a plurality of sets of light valves. The backlight includes a light source optically coupled to a plate light guide configured with a plurality of multibeam diffraction gratings. Each multibeam diffraction grating corresponds to a set of light valves and is spatially offset with respect to a center of the set of light valves toward a center of the multiview pixel. The plurality of multibeam diffraction gratings is also configured to diffractively couple out light beams from the plate light guide with different diffraction angles and angular offsets such that at least a portion of the coupled-out light beams interleave and propagate in different view directions of the multiview display.

Abstract: A diffractive backlight system includes a light source and a plate light guide. A surface of the plate light guide is configured with a diffraction grating that couples light out of the plate light guide and concentrates the light into a localized region of space. The diffractive backlight system may be used with at least one light valve array to form a display that generates images for viewing in the localized region of space. The display may be incorporated in head-mounted displays in order to generate focused augmented or virtual reality images for wearers.

Abstract: Polychromatic backlighting employs a grating coupler to diffractively split and redirect collimated light coupled into a light guide. A polychromatic grating-coupled backlight includes a light guide configured to guide light and a light source to provide collimated polychromatic light. The polychromatic grating-coupled backlight further includes the grating coupler diffractively split and redirect to provide a plurality of light beams. Each light beam of the plurality represents a respective different color of the polychromatic light and is configured to propagate within the light guide as guided light at a color-specific, non-zero propagation angle corresponding to the respective different color of polychromatic light. An electronic display includes the polychromatic grating-coupled backlight and further includes a diffraction grating to diffractively couple out a portion of the guided light and a light valve array to modulate the coupled-out light as an electronic display pixel.