Patents by Inventor Francesco Aieta

Francesco Aieta has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240118554
    Abstract: Multi-wavelength light is directed to an optic including a substrate and metasurface optical components deposited on a surface of the substrate. The metasurface optical components comprise a pattern of silicon dielectric resonators with nonperiodic gap distances between adjacent dielectric resonators. Incident light directed to the metasurface optical components is scattered and phase-shifted by the configuration of the gap distances and the widths and thicknesses of the dielectric resonators. Each dielectric resonator has a rectangular cross-section such that a first phase shift is imparted for a transverse-electric (TE) component of the incident light and a second phase shift is imparted for a transverse-magnetic (TM) component of the incident light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2023
    Publication date: April 11, 2024
    Applicant: President and Fellows of Harvard College
    Inventors: Francesco Aieta, Mikhail Kats, Patrice Genevet, Federico Capasso, Mohammadreza Khorasaninejad
  • Publication number: 20240103273
    Abstract: A display may include a waveguide. An input coupler may couple image light into the waveguide and an output coupler may couple the image light out of the waveguide. A surface relief grating on the waveguide may couple infrared light into the waveguide and may couple the infrared light out of the waveguide. The surface relief grating may additionally or alternatively couple reflected infrared light into the waveguide and out of the waveguide and towards an infrared sensor. The surface relief grating may also form a cross-coupler for the image light. The infrared sensor may gather infrared sensor data based on the reflected infrared light. Control circuitry may perform gaze tracking operations based on the infrared sensor data. The input and output couplers may also be formed from surface relief gratings or may include other optical components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2022
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Inventors: Francesco Aieta, Byron R. Cocilovo, Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Se Baek Oh
  • Patent number: 11822079
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a display that provides image light to a waveguide. First and second liquid crystal lenses may be mounted to opposing surfaces of the waveguide. An coupler may couple the image light out of the waveguide through the first lens. The second lens may convey world light to the first lens. Control circuitry may control the first lens to apply a first optical power to the image light and the world light and may control the second lens to apply a second optical power to the world light that cancels out the first optical power. Each lens may include two layers of liquid crystal molecules having antiparallel pretilt angles. The pretilt angles and rubbing directions of the first lens may be antiparallel to corresponding pretilt angles and rubbing directions of the second lens about the waveguide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jin Yan, Young Cheol Yang, Igor Stamenov, Scott M. DeLapp, Francesco Aieta, Bradley C. Steele, Enkhamgalan Dorjgotov, Se Baek Oh
  • Patent number: 11803056
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a display that emits image light, a waveguide, and an input coupler that couples the image light into the waveguide. Beam splitter structures may be embedded within the waveguide. The beam splitter structures may partially reflect the image light multiple times and may serve to generate replicated beams of light that are coupled out of the waveguide by an output coupler. The beam splitter structures may replicate the beams across two dimensions to provide an eye box with uniform-intensity light from the display across its area. The beam splitter structures may include stacked partially reflective beam splitter layers, sandwiched transparent substrate layers having different indices of refraction, a thick volume hologram interposed between substrate layers, or combinations of these or other structures. The reflectivity of the beam splitter structures may vary discretely or continuously across the lateral area of the waveguide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Guolin Peng, Eric J. Hansotte, Francesco Aieta, Graham B. Myhre, Hyungryul Choi, Nan Zhu, Paul J. Gelsinger-Austin, Se Baek Oh, Scott M. DeLapp, Bradley C. Steele
  • Patent number: 11733535
    Abstract: Multi-wavelength light is directed to an optic including a substrate and achromatic metasurface optical components deposited on a surface of the substrate. The achromatic metasurface optical components comprise a pattern of dielectric resonators. The dielectric resonators have nonperiodic gap distances between adjacent dielectric resonators; and each dielectric resonator has a width, w, that is distinct from the width of other dielectric resonators. A plurality of wavelengths of interest selected from the wavelengths of the multi-wavelength light are deflected with the achromatic metasurface optical components at a shared angle or to or from a focal point at a shared focal length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College
    Inventors: Francesco Aieta, Mikhail Kats, Patrice Genevet, Federico Capasso, Mohammadreza Khorasaninejad
  • Publication number: 20230107214
    Abstract: A static multiview display and method of static multiview display operation provide a static multiview image using diffractive gratings to that encode pixels of the static multiview image. The static multiview display 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 static multiview display further includes a plurality of diffraction gratings configured to provide different individual directional light beams from a portion of the radially directed guided light beams. The different individual directional light beams having different intensities and directions corresponding to and representing different view pixels of the static multiview image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2022
    Publication date: April 6, 2023
    Inventors: David A. Fattal, Xuejian Li, Francesco Aieta
  • Patent number: 11448896
    Abstract: A multilayer static multiview display and method of multilayer multiview display operation provide a plurality of multiview images using diffractive scattering of light from guided light beams having different radial directions. The static multiview display includes a first multiview display layer configured to emit directional light beams representing a first multiview image by diffractive scattering light from a radial pattern of guided light beams within the first multiview display layer. The static multiview display further includes a second multiview display layer configured to emit directional light beams representing a second static multiview image by diffractive scattering light from a radial pattern of guided light beams within the second multiview display layer. The provided plurality of multiview images may include a composite color multiview image, a static multiview image, or an animated or quasi-static multiview image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: LEIA INC.
    Inventors: David A. Fattal, Xuejian Li, Francesco Aieta
  • Patent number: 11360259
    Abstract: A static multiview display includes a plurality of light emitters offset in a longitudinal direction; a light guide configured to guide light in the longitudinal direction; a collimating light coupler configured to receive light from the light emitters and coupling the light to the light guide; and an array of diffraction gratings to extract light guided by the light guide to provide a multiview image having a direction that is a function of both color and a propagation angle of light guided by the light guide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: LEIA INC.
    Inventors: Xuejian Li, David A. Fattal, Francesco Aieta, Ming Ma
  • Patent number: 11327236
    Abstract: A grating-coupled light guide concentrates light and diffractively redirects the concentrated light at a non-zero propagation angle as guided light having a predetermined spread angle. The grating-coupled light guide includes a light guide, an optical concentrator, and a grating coupler. The optical concentrator is configured to concentrate light from a light source as concentrated light and the grating coupler is configured to diffractively redirect the concentrated light into the light guide as the guided light. Characteristics of the optical concentrator and grating coupler are configured in combination to determine the non-zero propagation angle and predetermined spread angle. A grating-coupled display system further includes an array of light valves configured to modulate emitted light as a displayed image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: LEIA INC.
    Inventors: Xuejian Li, David A. Fattal, Francesco Aieta
  • Publication number: 20220066204
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a display that generates light for an optical system that redirects the light towards an eye box. The optical system may include a waveguide, a non-diffractive input coupler, a cross coupler, and an output coupler. The cross coupler may expand the light in a first direction. The cross coupler may perform an even number of diffractions on the light and may couple the light back into the waveguide at an angle suitable for total internal reflection. The output coupler may expand the light in a second direction while coupling the light out of the waveguide. The cross coupler may include surface relief gratings or holographic gratings embedded within the waveguide or formed in a separate substrate. The optical system may direct the light towards the eye box without chromatic dispersion and while supporting an expanded field of view and optical bandwidth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Francesco Aieta, Se Baek Oh, Friso Schlottau, Adam C. Urness
  • Patent number: 11256022
    Abstract: A polarization recycling backlight and a multiview display employ a polarization-selective scattering feature configured to preferentially scatter out a first polarization component of guided light and a polarization conversion structure configured to convert a portion of a second polarization component of the guided light into the first polarization component. The polarization conversion structure includes a subwavelength grating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: LEIA INC.
    Inventors: Francesco Aieta, Xuejian Li, Thomas Hoekman, David A. Fattal
  • Patent number: 11143810
    Abstract: A unilateral backlight and a unilateral multiview display employ an array of unilateral diffractive elements configured to provide directional light beams having a unilateral direction. A unilateral diffractive element of the unilateral diffractive element array comprises a slanted diffraction grating configured to provide a directional light beam by diffractive scattering of light guided in a light guide. The unilateral multiview display further includes light valves configured to modulate a plurality of directional light beams as multiview image having the unilateral direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: LEIA INC.
    Inventors: David A. Fattal, Francesco Aieta
  • Patent number: 11067513
    Abstract: In an example, an apparatus is described that includes a light source, a holographic optical element, a sampling apparatus, and a detector. The light source is configured to emit a beam of excitation light. The holographic optical element is arranged to convert the beam of excitation light into a plurality of beams of excitation light. The sampling apparatus is arranged to project the plurality of beams of excitation light onto a surface outside the apparatus as a two-dimensional pattern of projection points. The sampling apparatus is further arranged to collect scattered radiation emitted by the surface in response to the two-dimensional pattern of projection points. The detector detects a frequency shift in the scattered radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Francesco Aieta, Anita Rogacs, Viktor Shkolnikov
  • Patent number: 11041988
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: LEIA INC.
    Inventors: David A. Fattal, Francesco Aieta
  • Patent number: 10989962
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: LEIA INC.
    Inventors: Ming Ma, David A. Fattal, Francesco Aieta
  • Publication number: 20210109364
    Abstract: Multi-wavelength light is directed to an optic including a substrate and achromatic metasurface optical components deposited on a surface of the substrate. The achromatic metasurface optical components comprise a pattern of dielectric resonators. The dielectric resonators have nonperiodic gap distances between adjacent dielectric resonators; and each dielectric resonator has a width, w, that is distinct from the width of other dielectric resonators. A plurality of wavelengths of interest selected from the wavelengths of the multi-wavelength light are deflected with the achromatic metasurface optical components at a shared angle or to or from a focal point at a shared focal length.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Applicant: President and Fellows of Harvard College
    Inventors: Francesco Aieta, Mikhail Kats, Patrice Genevet, Federico Capasso, Mohammadreza Khorasaninejad
  • Patent number: 10969339
    Abstract: Optical readers are disclosed in examples herein. An example optical reader including a light source to emit a light beam; and a spot pattern generator to receive the light beam and to generate a two-dimensional spot array from the light beam, the two-dimensional spot array to be directed toward a substrate having nanostructures, the two-dimensional spot array to be sensed to detect a presence or an absence of a substance of interest on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Charles M. Santori, James William Stasiak, Francesco Aieta, Anita Rogacs, Mineo Yamakawa, Kenneth Ward
  • Patent number: 10928677
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: LEIA INC.
    Inventors: Francesco Aieta, David A. Fattal
  • Patent number: 10866426
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a light source such as a laser light source. The light source may emit light into a waveguide. A phase grating may diffract the light that is emitted into the waveguide to produce diffracted light. The diffracted light may be oriented parallel to a surface normal of an angled edge of the waveguide and parallel to a surface normal of a microelectromechanical systems mirror element in a two-dimensional scanning microelectromechanical systems mirror that is coupled to the edge of the waveguide. A wave plate may be interposed between the mirror and the edge of the waveguide to change the polarization state of light reflected from the mirror element relative to incoming diffracted light from the phase grating. The phase grating may be configured so that the reflected light is not diffracted by the phase grating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Eric J. Hansotte, Byron R. Cocilovo, Se Baek Oh, Seyedeh Mahsa Kamali, Francesco Aieta
  • Publication number: 20200386937
    Abstract: A static multiview display and method employ an array of diffraction gratings to provide a multiview image having a direction that is a function of both color and a propagation angle of a collimated guided light beam. The static multiview display includes a light guide configured to guide light in a longitudinal direction and a light source configured to provide the collimated guided light beam, the propagation angle within the light guide being determined by a longitudinal offset of an optical emitter of the light source. The static multiview display further includes the array of diffraction gratings are configured to scatter out a portion of the collimated guided light beam as a plurality of directional light beams representing the multiview image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Inventors: Xuejian Li, David A. Fattal, Francesco Aieta, Ming Ma