Abstract: An illuminator for a display panel includes a slab of transparent material for propagating illuminating light between outer surfaces of the slab, an out-coupler supported by the slab for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light along one of the outer surfaces of the slab, and a tunable microlens array for forming an array of light spots from the out-coupled illuminating light portions downstream of the focusing element for illuminating pixels of the display panel. The array of light spots may be repeated at a distance from the tunable microlens array due to Talbot effect. The display panel may be illuminated in a color-sequential manner, and the tunable microlens array may be used to adjust the focal plane position for each color channel individually.

Abstract: A switchable grating may be used to redirect illuminating light for illuminating a user’s eye in an eye tracking system, to facilitate the determination of eye position and/or orientation. The eye tracking system may be used in a near-eye display. An eye tracking camera obtains an eye image, and a controller performs an initial determination of the eye position. The controller may switch the switchable grating to direct the illuminating light beam onto the eye, for a better position and/or eye orientation determination.

Abstract: A directional illuminator for a display apparatus includes a switchable diffuser for tuning a divergence of a light beam illuminating a display panel of the display apparatus. The tunable divergence of the illuminating light beam translates into a tunable exit pupil size at the eyebox of the display apparatus, which may be matched to a pupil size of a user’s eye, thus providing a configurable illumination of the eye pupil. A tiltable reflector in an optical path of the illuminating light beam may be used to shift the location of the exit pupil at the eyebox of the display apparatus.

Abstract: A display apparatus includes a lightguide for conveying images to a user in a target field-of-view (FOV). The lightguide includes a tunable output diffraction grating for displaying different portions of the target field-of-view at different time instances. The tunable output diffraction grating may include grating segments that are selectively switchable between a diffracting state and a non-diffracting state in dependence on a content of an image being displayed, providing content-dependent FOV switching.

Abstract: A display apparatus includes a lightguide for conveying images to a viewing area in a target field-of-view (FOV), and an eye detector for detecting a position of an eye in the viewing area. The lightguide includes a tunable segmented output diffraction grating, each segment for diffracting a portion of the image light to a corresponding segment of the viewing area. A controller is configured to switch to a non-diffracting state those of the segments that are located outside of the target FOV when viewed from the detected eye position.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for molding a slanted structure. In some embodiments, a mold for nanoimprint lithography includes a support layer, a polymeric layer on the support layer and including a slanted structure, and an oxide layer on surfaces of the slanted structure. In some embodiments, the oxide layer is conformally deposited on the surfaces of the slanted structure by atomic layer deposition. In some embodiments, the mold further includes an anti-sticking layer on the oxide layer.

Abstract: An illuminator for a display panel includes a light source for providing a light beam and a lightguide coupled to the light source for receiving and propagating the light beam along the substrate. The lightguide includes an array of out-coupling gratings that runs parallel to the array of pixels for out-coupling portions of the light beam from the lightguide such that the out-coupled light beam portions propagate through the substrate and produce an array of optical power density peaks at the array of pixels due to Talbot effect. A period of the array of peaks is an integer multiple of a pitch of the array of pixels.

Abstract: A waveguide illuminator includes an input waveguide, a waveguide splitter coupled to the input waveguide, and a waveguide array coupled to the waveguide splitter. The waveguide array includes an array of out-couplers out-coupling portions of the split light beam to form an array of out-coupled beam portions for illuminating a display panel. Locations of the array of out-couplers are coordinated with locations of individual pixels of the display panel, causing each light beam portion to propagate through a corresponding pixel of the display panel, thereby improving efficiency of light utilization by the display panel.

Abstract: A pupil-replicating waveguide usable in a VR display may have a slab of transparent material, an input grating coupler supported by the slab at the center of the slab, with output gratings supported by the slab and surrounding the input grating coupler. The input grating coupler couples image light into the slab, which propagates in the slab by total internal reflections. The out-coupling grating or gratings spread the image light all around the input grating, providing a wide beam of image light illuminating the eyebox of the VR display.

Abstract: A projector includes an illumination waveguide layer, a collimation waveguide layer, and a spatial modulator. The illumination waveguide layer expands a light beam which is coupled to the spatial modulator. The spatial modulator modulates the expanded light beam to provide a line of light points of controllable brightness. The collimation waveguide collimates light of the light points to obtain a fan of collimated light beams. Each collimated light beam of the fan has an angle corresponding to a coordinate of the corresponding light point of the line. A tiltable reflector may be placed at the exit pupil to scan the fan of light beams in a plane non-parallel to the plane of the fan, thus providing a 2D image in angular domain. An array of Mach-Zehnder interferometers may be used in place of the illumination waveguide layer and the spatial modulator to provide the line of light points.

Abstract: A device includes a waveguide, an in-coupling element, and an out-coupling element coupled with the waveguide. The waveguide, the in-coupling element, and the out-coupling element are configured to deliver a plurality of portions of an image light to an eye-box of the device. At least one of the in-coupling element or the out-coupling element includes a polarization selective diffractive element. The polarization selective diffractive element includes a grating including a plurality of microstructures defining a plurality of grooves filled with a passive optically anisotropic material having a first effective refractive index along a groove direction of the grooves and a second effective refractive index along an in-plane direction perpendicular to the groove direction. One of the first effective refractive index or the second effective refractive index substantially matches with a refractive index of the microstructures.

Abstract: A manufacturing system performs a deposition of an etch-compatible film over a substrate. The etch-compatible film includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The manufacturing system performs a partial removal of the etch-compatible film to create a surface profile on the first surface with a plurality of depths relative to the substrate. The manufacturing system performs a deposition of a second material over the profile created in the etch-compatible film. The manufacturing system performs a planarization of the second material to obtain a plurality of etch heights of the second material in accordance with the plurality of depths in the profile created in the etch-compatible film. The manufacturing system performs a lithographic patterning of a photoresist deposited over the planarized second material to obtain the plurality of etch heights and one or more duty cycles in the second material.

Abstract: A waveguide illuminator includes adjacent linear and slab waveguide areas. An input light beam is guided in a linear waveguide, is split into a plurality of sub-beams to propagate in individual linear waveguides to a slab waveguide area and form an output light beam in the slab waveguide area. An array of out-couplers is disposed in the slab waveguide area. The array of out-couplers out-couples portions of the output light beam forms an array of out-coupled beam portions for illuminating a display panel. Locations of the array of out-couplers are coordinated with locations of individual pixels of the display panel, thereby improving efficiency of light utilization by the display panel.

Abstract: An apparatus may include (1) a planar liquid-crystal structure including a plurality of liquid crystals, and (2) a plurality of electrodes coupled to the planar liquid-crystal structure such that (a) when a first plurality of voltages are applied to at least some of the plurality of electrodes, the plurality of liquid crystals are oriented such that the planar liquid-crystal structure operates as a diffraction grating having a first pitch, and (2) when a second plurality of voltages are applied to at least some of the plurality of electrodes, the plurality of liquid crystals are oriented such that the planar liquid-crystal structure operates as a diffraction grating having a second pitch different from the first pitch.

Abstract: An illuminator for a display panel includes a light source for providing a light beam and a lightguide coupled to the light source for receiving and propagating the light beam along the substrate. The lightguide includes an array of out-coupling gratings that runs parallel to the array of pixels for out-coupling portions of the light beam from the lightguide such that the out-coupled light beam portions propagate through the substrate and produce an array of optical power density peaks at the array of pixels due to Talbot effect. A period of the array of peaks is an integer multiple of a pitch of the array of pixels.

Abstract: A waveguide illuminator includes an input waveguide, a waveguide splitter coupled to the input waveguide, and a waveguide array coupled to the waveguide splitter. The waveguide array includes an array of out-couplers out-coupling portions of the split light beam to form an array of out-coupled beam portions for illuminating a display panel. To reduce optical interference, the waveguide illuminator may have two interlaced waveguide arrays energized by two different light sources. Output polarizations of neighboring light pixels of a display illuminated with such waveguide illuminator may be orthogonal to each other. The frames to be displayed may be broken down into sequentially displayed sub-frames with interleaved pixels.

Abstract: A waveguide illuminator includes an input waveguide, a waveguide splitter coupled to the input waveguide, and a waveguide array coupled to the waveguide splitter. The waveguide array includes an array of out-coupling gratings that out-couple portions of the split light beam to form an array of out-coupled beam portions for illuminating a display panel. The out-coupling gratings may be apodized to reduce light scattering by the gratings. Additionally, gaps between the out-coupling gratings along the waveguides may be filled by gap gratings and/or etched grooves running parallel to the waveguides.

Abstract: A waveguide illuminator includes adjacent linear and slab waveguide areas. An input light beam is guided in a linear waveguide, is split into a plurality of sub-beams to propagate in individual linear waveguides to a slab waveguide area and form an output light beam in the slab waveguide area. An array of out-couplers is disposed in the slab waveguide area. The array of out-couplers out-couples portions of the output light beam forms an array of out-coupled beam portions for illuminating a display panel. Locations of the array of out-couplers are coordinated with locations of individual pixels of the display panel, thereby improving efficiency of light utilization by the display panel.

Abstract: A waveguide illuminator includes an input waveguide, a waveguide splitter coupled to the input waveguide, and a waveguide array coupled to the waveguide splitter. The waveguide array includes an array of out-couplers out-coupling portions of the split light beam to form an array of out-coupled beam portions for illuminating a display panel. Locations of the array of out-couplers are coordinated with locations of individual pixels of the display panel, causing each light beam portion to propagate through a corresponding pixel of the display panel, thereby improving efficiency of light utilization by the display panel.

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).