Abstract: Disclosed herein is a nanoimprint lithography (NIL) soft mold precursor material comprising a curable fluorinated base resin component, one or more additives, one or more crosslinkers, and one or more of a photo radical generator, a photo acid generator, or both. According to certain embodiments, further disclosed herein are a polymeric material comprising a partially or totally polymerized or crosslinked NIL precursor material, a NIL soft mold comprising the polymeric material, a process for making the NIL soft mold, and a method of using the NIL soft mold to form a NIL grating.

Abstract: A self-lit display panel includes a photonic integrated circuit payer including an array of waveguides and an array of out-couplers for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light through pixels of the panel. The self-lit display panel may include a transparent electronic circuitry layer backlit by the photonic integrated circuit layer; the two layers may be on a same substrate or on opposed substrates defining a cell filled with an electro-active material. The configuration allows for chief ray engineering, zonal illuminating, and separate illumination with red, green, and blue illuminating light.

Abstract: A pupil-replicating lightguide includes a slab of transparent material, a switchable out-coupling grating for out-coupling portions of image light to propagate towards an eyebox, and a switchable tracking grating for redirecting tracking light carrying an eye image towards an eye tracking camera. One of the two gratings may be turned ON while the other is turned OFF, in a time-sequential manner, allowing the combined use of the pupil-replicating lightguide for carrying image light and eye tracking light.

Abstract: A device includes a waveguide. The device also includes a plurality of grating sets coupled with the waveguide and configured to, during a plurality of time periods, couple a plurality of input image lights into and out of the waveguide as a plurality of output image lights. In a first grating set of the plurality of grating sets, a first vector sum of in-plane projections of grating vectors associated with all gratings included in the first grating set is a first non-null vector. In a second grating set of the plurality of grating sets, a second vector sum of in-plane projections of grating vectors associated with all gratings included in the second grating set is a second non-null vector. The first vector sum and the second vector sum have different directions.

Abstract: A device includes a light source to emit light and a light detector to receive the light emitted by the light source. The device may include a high voltage optical transformer and may be configured such that the light detector is laterally spaced away from the light source. In some architectures, the light source and the light detector may be arranged in a common plane. A photonic integrated circuit may be used to couple light emitted from the light source to the light detector.

Abstract: A system includes one or more waveguides, and a plurality of grating sets coupled with the one or more waveguides. A plurality of combinations of gratings from the grating sets are configurable to direct an image light to propagate through a plurality of sub-eyeboxes forming an uncompressed eyebox. The system also includes a controller configured to selectively configure one or more combinations of gratings to operate in a diffraction state to direct the image light to propagate through one or more sub-eyeboxes forming a compressed eyebox having a size smaller than a size of the uncompressed eyebox.

Abstract: An optical device with a variable index of refraction is formed by exposing a film to an energy gradient. The optical device has angular selectivity. The optical device can be used as an output coupler for a waveguide used in a virtual-reality and/or augmented-reality apparatus.

Abstract: A waveguide assembly is provided. The waveguide assembly includes a pair of pupil-replicating waveguides. The first pupil-replicating waveguide is configured for receiving an input beam of image light and providing an intermediate beam comprising multiple offset portions of the input beam. The second pupil-replicating waveguide is configured for receiving the intermediate beam from the first pupil-replicating waveguide and providing an output beam comprising multiple offset portions of the intermediate beam. The input beam may be expanded by the waveguide assembly in such a manner that pupil gaps are reduced or eliminated.

Abstract: A display device with a transparent illuminator and an liquid crystal (LC) display panel is disclosed. The transparent illuminator includes a light source and a transparent lightguide, which may be based on a slab of transparent material with zigzag light propagation of the illuminating light in the slab and/or a transparent photonic integrated circuit with singlemode ridge waveguides for spreading the illuminating light in a plane parallel to the plane of LC display panel. The lightguide includes a plurality of grating out-couplers whose position is coordinated with positions of LC pixels for higher throughput. A reflective offset-to-angle optical element may be provided to form an image in angular domain through the LC panel and through the transparent illuminator, resulting in an overall compact and efficient display configuration.

Abstract: A self-lit display panel includes a photonic integrated circuit payer including an array of waveguides and an array of out-couplers for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light through pixels of the panel. The self-lit display panel may include a transparent electronic circuitry layer backlit by the photonic integrated circuit layer; the two layers may be on a same substrate or on opposed substrates defining a cell filled with an electro-active material. The configuration allows for chief ray engineering, zonal illuminating, and separate illumination with red, green, and blue illuminating light.

Abstract: A self-lit display panel includes a photonic integrated circuit payer including an array of waveguides and an array of out-couplers for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light through pixels of the panel. The self-lit display panel may include a transparent electronic circuitry layer backlit by the photonic integrated circuit layer; the two layers may be on a same substrate or on opposed substrates defining a cell filled with an electro-active material. The configuration allows for chief ray engineering, zonal illuminating, and separate illumination with red, green, and blue illuminating light.

Abstract: A display device includes a directional illuminator providing a light beam, a display panel downstream of a directional illuminator, for receiving and spatially modulating the light beam, and a beam redirecting module downstream of the display panel, for variably redirecting the spatially modulated light beam. Steering the illuminating light by the beam redirecting module enables one to steer the exit pupil of the display device to match the user's eye location(s).

Abstract: In some embodiments, a photonic switch includes a first layer, a cantilever coupler, and a set of electrodes. The first layer includes a first waveguide that directs light in a first direction and a second waveguide that directs light in a second direction that is different from the first direction. The cantilever coupler is formed from a lithium niobate material and disposed over the first layer. The cantilever coupler includes a first end that is positioned over the first waveguide and a second end that is bonded to the second waveguide. The set of electrodes apply an electric potential across the first end, which deforms the first waveguide to couple to the second waveguide and propagates light between the first waveguide and the second waveguide.

Abstract: A self-lit display panel includes a photonic integrated circuit payer including an array of waveguides and an array of out-couplers for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light through pixels of the panel. The self-lit display panel may include a transparent electronic circuitry layer backlit by the photonic integrated circuit layer; the two layers may be on a same substrate or on opposed substrates defining a cell filled with an electro-active material. The configuration allows for chief ray engineering, zonal illuminating, and separate illumination with red, green, and blue illuminating light.

Abstract: A self-lit display panel includes a photonic integrated circuit payer including an array of waveguides and an array of out-couplers for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light through pixels of the panel. The self-lit display panel may include a transparent electronic circuitry layer backlit by the photonic integrated circuit layer; the two layers may be on a same substrate or on opposed substrates defining a cell filled with an electro-active material. The configuration allows for chief ray engineering, zonal illuminating, and separate illumination with red, green, and blue illuminating light.

Abstract: A field of view of an imaging or ranging device may be increased multiple times by providing a switchable diffraction grating structure upstream of an imaging camera or ranging light source. The switchable diffraction grating changes the angle of propagating of incoming light by a fixed step, enabling the device to switch between several portions of a compound field of view. The switchable diffraction grating structure may be supported by a lightguide that guides the image light or ranging light by a series of reflections from opposed surfaces of the lightguide.

Abstract: A lightguide for conveying image light to an eyebox of a display device includes a tunable grating, e.g. an out-coupling grating for out-coupling the image light from the lightguide. The tunable grating may be tuned or switched to effectively diffract light of a color channel of a color-sequential display. In augmented reality display systems, a lightguide combiner element may include a switchable grating to out-couple the image light only during short time intervals and to not out-couple the image light in between these time intervals. Effectively, the out-coupling grating is present only a portion of overall operation time of the display, which improves the transparency of the combiner element to the outside light and reduces rainbow effects.

Abstract: A pupil-replicating lightguide includes a slab of transparent material, a switchable out-coupling grating for out-coupling portions of image light to propagate towards an eyebox, and a switchable tracking grating for redirecting tracking light carrying an eye image towards an eye tracking camera. One of the two gratings may be turned ON while the other is turned OFF, in a time-sequential manner, allowing the combined use of the pupil-replicating lightguide for carrying image light and eye tracking light.

Abstract: A pupil-replicating lightguide includes a slab of transparent material for guiding image light in the slab, and an out-coupling structure supported by the slab for out-coupling portions of the image light from the slab. The portions are laterally offset from one another along a path of the image light in the slab. The out-coupling grating structure has a switchable distribution of out-coupling efficiency for redirecting the portions of out-coupled light to a desired location such as a current location of an eye of the viewer determined by an eye tracking system. The out-coupling grating structure may include a plurality of diffraction gratings having different local slant angles of grating fringes.

Abstract: A lightguide for conveying image light to an eyebox of a display device includes a tunable grating, e.g. an out-coupling grating for out-coupling the image light from the lightguide. The tunable grating may be tuned or switched to effectively diffract light of a color channel of a color-sequential display. In augmented reality display systems, a lightguide combiner element may include a switchable grating to out-couple the image light only during short time intervals and to not out-couple the image light in between these time intervals. Effectively, the out-coupling grating is present only a portion of overall operation time of the display, which improves the transparency of the combiner element to the outside light and reduces rainbow effects.