Abstract: A situation awareness viewing device, typically in the form of a head-mounted display device, includes a polarizing beam splitter made of a cube of a material transparent to light and having an index of refraction greater than 1, and a wire grid polarizer lying within the cube on a cube-diagonal plane extending between two diagonally opposed edges of the cube. The polarizing beam splitter has a first optical axis extending from a first face of the cube toward an opposing second face of the cube and lying at an angle of 45 degrees to the cube-diagonal plane, and a second optical axis extending from a third face of the cube toward an opposing fourth face of the cube and lying at an angle of 45 degrees to the cube-diagonal plane, the second optical axis being perpendicular to the first optical axis.

Abstract: A polarization rotating optical device is provided. The device comprises a prism configured to accept an input collimated optical beam and redirect the beam by means of total internal reflection at three or more faces of the prism. The first face reflects an incident collimated beam at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the original beam direction. The incident and reflected beams are comprised of orthogonal s and p polarized components, where the s and p directions are defined with respect to the plane containing the incident and reflected beam directions in the conventional manner. One or more prism faces then reflect the beam within the plane normal to the incident beam. The sum of the included angles of these reflections must total an odd multiple of 90 degrees. The final prism face reflects the beam by 90 degrees in a third plane orthogonal to the planes of the preceding reflection.

Abstract: A collimating optical device utilizes a reflective beamsplitter in the form of a linear polarizing beamsplitter to achieve a wide field of view. One form of the wide-angle collimating optical device includes, in order from an image source, a first absorptive linear polarizer; a first quarter-wave plate; an optical doublet including a piano-concave singlet, a plano-convex singlet whose convex surface has the same curvature as the curvature of the concave surface, and a first reflective beamsplitter joining the concave surface of the plano-concave singlet to the convex surface of the plano-convex singlet; a second quarter-wave plate; and a second reflective beamsplitter. One of the reflective beamsplitters is a linear polarizing beamsplitter, most preferably a wire grid polarizer.

Abstract: A collimating optical device utilizes a reflective beamsplitter in the form of a linear polarizing beamsplitter to achieve a wide field of view. One form of the wide-angle collimating optical device includes, in order from an image source, a first absorptive linear polarizer; a first quarter-wave plate; an optical doublet including a plano-concave singlet, a plano-convex singlet whose convex surface has the same curvature as the curvature of the concave surface, and a first reflective beamsplitter joining the concave surface of the plano-concave singlet to the convex surface of the plano-convex singlet; a second quarter-wave plate; and a second reflective beamsplitter. One of the reflective beamsplitters is a linear polarizing beamsplitter, most preferably a wire grid polarizer.

Abstract: A situation awareness viewing device, typically in the form of a head-mounted display device, includes a polarizing beam splitter made of a cube of a material transparent to light and having an index of refraction greater than 1, and a wire grid polarizer lying within the cube on a cube-diagonal plane extending between two diagonally opposed edges of the cube. The polarizing beam splitter has a first optical axis extending from a first face of the cube toward an opposing second face of the cube and lying at an angle of 45 degrees to the cube-diagonal plane, and a second optical axis extending from a third face of the cube toward an opposing fourth face of the cube and lying at an angle of 45 degrees to the cube-diagonal plane, the second optical axis being perpendicular to the first optical axis.

Abstract: A color filter which, in a reflection type color picture projector using a polarized light component as a projection light, improve the utilization factor of light and a color picture display device using the same color filter are provided. The color filter 3 using a transmission type hologram diffracts and spectroscopically separates P polarized light components related to respective primary colors and condenses them to pixel electrodes 13r, 13g, and 13b on the side of an LCD panel 1. A reflection light which is modulated by an optical modulator 16 on the side of the LCD panel 1 and becomes S polarized light component is incident on the color filter 3. The color filter 3 transmits the S polarized light component and uses it as the projection light.

Abstract: A dual mode liquid crystal display device has a liquid crystal material disposed between a first polarizer and a second reflective polarizer. A light source is disposed behind the second polarizer and an absorbing means is disposed behind the second polarizer in front of the light source. The reflective polarizer may be a wire grid polarizer and reflects one polarization back towards the front of the display to create a bright image. The other polarization is passed by the reflective polarizer and absorbed by the absorbing means. The absorbing means may be a third polarizer and a wave plate for rotating the polarization passed by the second polarizer before absorbing it so that the second and third polarizers pass the same polarization so that the light produced by the light source may also pass through to the front of the display. The absorbing means may also be a removable sheet of absorbing material.

Abstract: A wide field-of-view simulator heads-up display provides images to a user along an optical axis. A HUD CRT provides images of a predetermined design wavelength, while rear projection screen CRTs provide out-of-window scenery that does not contain the predetermined design wavelength. A curved holographic combiner is mounted on the optical axis with a reflective hologram on a concave surface covered with a urethane overcoat. The convex surface has an antireflective coating. A tilted beamsplitter cooperates with a folding mirror in a relay optical system for providing a virtual image of the HUD CRT for reflection from the holographic combiner.

Abstract: A holographic optical filter separates broadband electromagnetic radiation into spectral components corresponding to different spectral regions and then images this radiation onto pixels of a display. It includes two layers of holographic optical elements that are sensitive to each of these spectral regions. The holographic optical elements generally transmit radiation outside of their bandpass but can diffract radiation falling within it. The filter is well suited for display applications and can be used in either a reflective or transmissive mode.

Abstract: A hologram decal structure including a photopolymer hologram layer having hologram fringes recorded therein, a transparent pressure sensitive adhesive layer disposed on a first surface of the photopolymer hologram layer, and a transparent urethane coating disposed on a second surface of the photopolymer hologram layer, and techniques for making the hologram decal.

Abstract: A stoplight system that includes a light source for providing a light output, and an array of non-overlapping lenslets comprised of first lenslets and second lenslets, each first lenslet configured to refract a portion of the light output of the light source into a first predetermined angular field comprising a central angular region having vertical and horizontal extent, and each second lenslet configured to refract a portion of the light output of the light source into a second predetermined angular field comprising first and second peripheral angular regions that are horizontally on either side of the central angular region, whereby the portions of the light output of the light source that are refracted by the first and second lenslets form stoplight illumination.

Abstract: An encoded hologram that produces a first image and a second image pursuant to playback illumination, wherein the first image is resolvable by human vision while the second image is not resolvable by human vision when the playback illumination comprises non-coherent broad band illumination, and wherein the second image is machine readable when the hologram is illuminated with playback illumination that is based on the original reference beam.

Abstract: An optical parking alignment system that includes at least one projector located on a vehicle for projecting a respective image forwardly of the vehicle, whereby alignment of the vehicle is indicated when each respective image is in focus on a screen disposed in front of the vehicle. The projector cam comprise a transparency and an imaging lens, or a hologram and a narrowband light source.

Abstract: A holographic stoplight for a vehicle including a stoplight hologram, a source of playback illumination, and a transparent prism for supporting the stoplight hologram and for guiding the playback illumination to the stoplight hologram. The prism with the stoplight hologram is mounted in front of the rear window of a vehicle with the light source beneath the surface of the rear panel that is adjacent the rear window.

Abstract: Optical assembly (34) has a transmission holographic optical element (46) which refracts the incoming ray (38) at an angle through the angularly oriented fiber (56) in fiber optic faceplate (48). Holographic optical element (50) refracts the ray (66) to become ray (44) toward a viewing pupil. The zero-order light from holographic optical element (46) is absorbed as ray (68) in the fiber optic faceplate. The zero-order light represented by ray (76) is absorbed in the holographic optical element (50). Holographic optical element (50) preferably forms a diffused viewing pupil for inspection of the light by the user.

Abstract: Optical apparatus (48) includes the holographic optical element (16) which diffracts the incoming ray (15) in a diffuse cone toward a viewing pupil and at an angle parallel to the axis of fiber optic faceplate (48) so the central ray (17) of the diffused cone passes through optical fiber (54) toward the viewing pupil. This permits the zero-order undiffracted light in ray (25) to be absorbed in the fiber optic faceplate (48).

Abstract: In a liquid crystal image display system, a fiber optic faceplate which transmits light only through a well defined acceptance cone is optically coupled to the liquid crystal display surface of a reflective dynamic scattering mode liquid crystal display device.In an image projector embodiment, light from an external light source is directed through the faceplate onto the liquid crystal display surface. Light scattered by activated (on-state) regions of the liquid crystal is substantially absorbed by the faceplate while light reflected from the non-activated (off-state) regions of the display surface is transmitted back through the faceplate to a projection lens which forms an image on a viewing screen.In a second embodiment of the invention, a viewer directly observes the liquid crystal display surface under ambient light from either natural or artificial light sources.

Abstract: In an electro-optical display device, a fiber optic faceplate which transmits light only through a well-defined solid angle, is optically coupled to an electro-optical display panel having a specularly reflecting surface. The display panel can be either an active device, such as laser diodes, or passive such as a dynamic scattering liquid crystal device. The axes of the optical fibers comprising the faceplate are slanted to the display surface at an angle such that the light which enters the front surface of the faceplate and is specularly reflected from the display surface is trapped within the faceplate. However, light emitted or scattered from on-state display elements is transmitted through the faceplate to the viewer.A high contrast display results because off-state display elements on the display surface appear dark under even intense ambient illumination whereas the on-state elements appear bright.

Abstract: A plurality of control plates is sandwiched between a cathode and a target to control the flow of charged particles such as electrons and ions between the cathode and the target. The cathode includes an elongated filament for generating charged particles such as electrons. A first electrode is positioned behind the filament with a second electrode having a positive potential interdigitated with the first electrode. The first electrode is divided into segments with a negative potential applied to those segments of first electrode where emission is desired from the elongated filament, and in those areas were emission is not desired those segments of the first electrode are switched sufficiently negative to cut off emission from the elongated filament. Each control plate has a plurality of apertures formed therein which are effectively aligned with corresponding apertures on the other control plates. The aligned apertures form beam channels.