Patents by Inventor John Goward
John Goward 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).
-
Patent number: 11972895Abstract: A high-voltage optical transformer may include (1) an array of light-emitting devices that are connected in parallel with one another and are electrically coupled to an electrical input, (2) a transfer medium, and (3) an array of photovoltaic cells that (A) are optically coupled to the array of light-emitting devices via the transfer medium, (B) are connected in series with one another, and (C) produce an electrical output whose voltage is higher than the electrical input. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: December 31, 2020Date of Patent: April 30, 2024Assignee: Meta Platforms Technologies, LLCInventors: John Goward, Maik Andre Scheller, Anurag Tyagi, Jonathan Robert Peterson, Christopher Yuan Ting Liao
-
Publication number: 20240134115Abstract: An edge coupler for coupling a light beam (e.g., a laser beam) into a waveguide comprises a first waveguide section characterized by a first thickness and a first constant width, a second waveguide section physically coupled to the first waveguide section and characterized by the first thickness and a gradually decreasing width, and a third waveguide section partially overlapping with the second waveguide section at an overlap region, the third waveguide section characterized by a gradually increasing width and a second thickness different from (e.g., greater than) the first thickness. In some embodiments, a surface (e.g., the top or bottom surface) of the second waveguide section and a surface (e.g., the top or bottom surface) of the third waveguide section are on a same plane.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 17, 2023Publication date: April 25, 2024Inventors: Mohit KHURANA, John GOWARD, Rahul AGARWAL, James Ronald BONAR
-
Patent number: 11810908Abstract: A method of forming a high voltage optical transformer includes forming a via through a transparent carrier wafer, forming a conductive layer within the via, bonding a solid state lighting (SSL) package to a first side of the carrier wafer, and bonding a photovoltaic (PV) wafer to a second side of the carrier wafer opposite to the first side. The photovoltaic wafer may include an active area and a conductive area located outside of the active area that is in electrical contact with the conductive layer. The method further includes forming both an SSL contact with the solid state lighting package and a PV contact with the conductive layer on the same side of the carrier wafer.Type: GrantFiled: May 21, 2021Date of Patent: November 7, 2023Assignee: Meta Platforms Technologies, LLCInventors: Christopher Yuan Ting Liao, Maik Andre Scheller, Jonathan Robert Peterson, Ehsan Vadiee, John Goward, Anurag Tyagi, Andrew John Ouderkirk
-
Patent number: 11803024Abstract: 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.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2021Date of Patent: October 31, 2023Assignee: Meta Platforms Technologies, LLCInventors: Jonathan Robert Peterson, John Goward, Maik Andre Scheller, Andrew John Ouderkirk, Christopher Yuan Ting Liao, Giuseppe Calafiore, Alexander Koshelev
-
Publication number: 20230024805Abstract: A light source or projector for a near-eye display includes a light source subassembly optically coupled to a waveguide concentrator. The light source subassembly may include several semiconductor chips each hosting an array of emitters such s superluminescent light-emitting diodes. The semiconductor chips may be disposed side-by-side, with their emitting sides or facets coupled to the waveguide concentrator, which provides a tight array of output light ports on a common output plane of the concentrator. The output diverging beams at the array of output light ports are coupled to a collimator, which collimates the beams and couples them to an angular scanner for scanning the collimated light beams together across the field of view of the display.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 4, 2022Publication date: January 26, 2023Inventors: Daniel Guenther Greif, Scott Charles McEldowney, Stephen John Holmes, Chadwick Brian Martin, Stephen James McNally, John Goward
-
Patent number: 11543570Abstract: An optical dimming device is provided. The optical dimming device includes a photochromic element including a photochromic composition. The photochromic composition includes a combination of a first photochromic material and a second photochromic material having different steady-state absorption profiles. In a direction from a first portion to a second portion of the photochromic element, a concentration of the first photochromic material in the combination decreases and a concentration of the second photochromic material in the combination increases.Type: GrantFiled: May 11, 2020Date of Patent: January 3, 2023Assignee: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLCInventors: Jasmine Soria Sears, John Goward, Nathan Matsuda
-
Publication number: 20220375910Abstract: A method of forming a high voltage optical transformer includes forming a via through a transparent carrier wafer, forming a conductive layer within the via, bonding a solid state lighting (SSL) package to a first side of the carrier wafer, and bonding a photovoltaic (PV) wafer to a second side of the carrier wafer opposite to the first side. The photovoltaic wafer may include an active area and a conductive area located outside of the active area that is in electrical contact with the conductive layer. The method further includes forming both an SSL contact with the solid state lighting package and a PV contact with the conductive layer on the same side of the carrier wafer.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 21, 2021Publication date: November 24, 2022Inventors: Christopher Yuan Ting Liao, Maik Andre Scheller, Jonathan Robert Peterson, Ehsan Vadiee, John Goward, Anurag Tyagi, Andrew John Ouderkirk
-
Patent number: 11493760Abstract: A light source or projector for a near-eye display includes a light source subassembly optically coupled to a waveguide concentrator. The light source subassembly may include several semiconductor chips each hosting an array of emitters such s superluminescent light-emitting diodes. The semiconductor chips may be disposed side-by-side, with their emitting sides or facets coupled to the waveguide concentrator, which provides a tight array of output light ports on a common output plane of the concentrator. The output diverging beams at the array of output light ports are coupled to a collimator, which collimates the beams and couples them to an angular scanner for scanning the collimated light beams together across the field of view of the display.Type: GrantFiled: May 2, 2019Date of Patent: November 8, 2022Assignee: Meta Platforms Technologies LLCInventors: Daniel Guenther Grief, Scott Charles McEldowney, Stephen John Holmes, Chadwick Brian Martin, Stephen James McNally, John Goward
-
Publication number: 20220350100Abstract: 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.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 13, 2021Publication date: November 3, 2022Inventors: Jonathan Robert Peterson, John Goward, Maik Andre Scheller, Andrew John Ouderkirk, Christopher Yuan Ting Liao, Giuseppe Calafiore, Alexander Koshelev
-
Patent number: 11455031Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for eye illumination for eye position tracking. An illuminator for eye tracking includes a substrate configured to be placed in front of an eye of a user and a light source positioned on a surface of the substrate. The light source is configured to be positioned within a field of view of the eye of the user. A maximum dimension of the light source in a plane parallel to an emission surface of the light source is less than 500 ?m.Type: GrantFiled: June 4, 2018Date of Patent: September 27, 2022Assignee: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLCInventors: Robin Sharma, Andrew John Ouderkirk, Matthew E. Colburn, Qi Zhang, Giuseppe Calafiore, John Goward, Karol Constantine Hatzilias, Matthieu Charles Raoul Leibovici, Nihar Ranjan Mohanty, Selso Luanava
-
Patent number: 11422390Abstract: A device includes an optical assembly and a digital projector. The optical assembly is configured to receive visible scene light at a backside of the optical assembly and to direct the visible scene light on an optical path toward an eyeward side. The optical assembly includes a dimming layer disposed on the optical path. The dimming layer includes a photochromic material that is configured to darken in response to exposure to a range of light wavelengths. The digital projector is disposed on the eyeward side of the optical assembly and is configured to selectively emit an activation light within the range of light wavelengths to activate a darkening of a region of the dimming layer to dim the visible scene light within the region.Type: GrantFiled: April 15, 2020Date of Patent: August 23, 2022Assignee: Meta Platforms Technologies, LLCInventors: Matthieu Charles Raoul Leibovici, Jasmine Soria Sears, Christophe Antoine Hurni, Nathan Matsuda, Guohua Wei, Yu Shi, John Goward
-
Publication number: 20220254974Abstract: For small, high-resolution, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, such as for a near-eye display in an artificial-reality headset, LEDs are spaced closely together. A backplane can be used to drive an array of LEDs in an LED display. A plurality of interconnects electrically couple the backplane with the array of LEDs. The backplane can have a different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than the array of LEDs. During bonding of the backplane to the array of LEDs, CTE mismatch can cause misalignment of bonding sites. The higher the bonding temperature, the greater the misalignment of bonding sites. Lower temperature bonding, using materials with lower melting or bonding temperatures, can be used to mitigate misalignment during bonding so that interconnects can be more closely spaced, which can allow LEDs to be more closely spaced, to enable a higher-resolution display.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 26, 2022Publication date: August 11, 2022Inventors: Daniel Henry MORRIS, John GOWARD, Chloe Astrid Marie FABIEN, Michael GRUNDMANN
-
Patent number: 11349052Abstract: For small, high-resolution, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, such as for a near-eye display in an artificial-reality headset, LEDs are spaced closely together. A backplane can be used to drive an array of LEDs in an LED display. A plurality of interconnects electrically couple the backplane with the array of LEDs. The backplane can have a different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than the array of LEDs. During bonding of the backplane to the array of LEDs, CTE mismatch can cause misalignment of bonding sites. The higher the bonding temperature, the greater the misalignment of bonding sites. Lower temperature bonding, using materials with lower melting or bonding temperatures, can be used to mitigate misalignment during bonding so that interconnects can be more closely spaced, which can allow LEDs to be more closely spaced, to enable a higher-resolution display.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2019Date of Patent: May 31, 2022Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLCInventors: Daniel Henry Morris, John Goward, Chloe Astrid Marie Fabien, Michael Grundmann
-
Patent number: 11239399Abstract: For small, high-resolution, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, such as for a near-eye display in an artificial-reality headset, LEDs are spaced closely together. A backplane can be used to drive an array of LEDs in an LED display. A plurality of interconnects electrically couple the backplane with the array of LEDs. As spacing between LEDs becomes smaller than interconnect spacing, a thin-film circuit layer can be used to reduce a number or interconnects between the backplane and the array of LEDs, so that interconnect spacing can be larger than LED spacing. This can allow LEDs in the LED display to be more densely arranged while still allowing use of a silicon backplane with drive circuitry to control operation of the LEDs in the LED display.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2019Date of Patent: February 1, 2022Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLCInventors: Daniel Henry Morris, John Goward, Chloe Astrid Marie Fabien, Michael Grundmann
-
Patent number: 11209676Abstract: An optical assembly is configured to receive visible scene light at a backside of the optical assembly and to direct the visible scene light on an optical path toward the eyeward side. The optical assembly also includes a dimming layer disposed on the optical path, where the dimming layer includes a photochromic material that is configured to darken in response to exposure to a range of light wavelengths. An activation layer, included in the optical assembly, is also disposed on the optical path and includes an in-field dimmer. The in-field dimmer is configured to selectively emit an activation light within the range of light wavelengths to activate a darkening of a region of the dimming layer to dim the visible scene light within the region.Type: GrantFiled: April 15, 2020Date of Patent: December 28, 2021Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLCInventors: Matthieu Charles Raoul Leibovici, Jasmine Soria Sears, Christophe Antoine Hurni, Nathan Matsuda, Guohua Wei, Yu Shi, John Goward
-
Publication number: 20210325699Abstract: An optical assembly is configured to receive visible scene light at a backside of the optical assembly and to direct the visible scene light on an optical path toward the eyeward side. The optical assembly also includes a dimming layer disposed on the optical path, where the dimming layer includes a photochromic material that is configured to darken in response to exposure to a range of light wavelengths. An activation layer, included in the optical assembly, is also disposed on the optical path and includes an in-field dimmer. The in-field dimmer is configured to selectively emit an activation light within the range of light wavelengths to activate a darkening of a region of the dimming layer to dim the visible scene light within the region.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 15, 2020Publication date: October 21, 2021Inventors: MATTHIEU CHARLES RAOUL LEIBOVICI, JASMINE SORIA SEARS, CHRISTOPHE ANTOINE HURNI, NATHAN MATSUDA, GUOHUA WEI, YU SHI, JOHN GOWARD
-
Publication number: 20210325696Abstract: A device includes an optical assembly and a digital projector. The optical assembly is configured to receive visible scene light at a backside of the optical assembly and to direct the visible scene light on an optical path toward an eyeward side. The optical assembly includes a dimming layer disposed on the optical path. The dimming layer includes a photochromic material that is configured to darken in response to exposure to a range of light wavelengths. The digital projector is disposed on the eyeward side of the optical assembly and is configured to selectively emit an activation light within the range of light wavelengths to activate a darkening of a region of the dimming layer to dim the visible scene light within the region.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 15, 2020Publication date: October 21, 2021Inventors: MATTHIEU CHARLES RAOUL LEIBOVICI, JASMINE SORIA SEARS, CHRISTOPHE ANTOINE HURNI, NATHAN MATSUDA, GUOHUA WEI, Yu Shi, John Goward
-
Publication number: 20210151649Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for bonding arrays of light emitting diodes (LEDs) to a plurality of driver circuits. According to certain embodiments, a method includes forming an array comprising a plurality of LEDs on a first substrate, separating the array into a plurality of sub-arrays by forming a plurality of gaps between the plurality of sub-arrays, bonding the plurality of sub-arrays to a plurality of driver circuits that are formed on a second substrate, forming an underfill within the plurality of gaps, and removing the first substrate from the plurality of sub-arrays.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 2, 2020Publication date: May 20, 2021Inventors: John Goward, Michael Grundmann
-
Publication number: 20200310120Abstract: A light source or projector for a near-eye display includes a light source subassembly optically coupled to a waveguide concentrator. The light source subassembly may include several semiconductor chips each hosting an array of emitters such s superluminescent light-emitting diodes. The semiconductor chips may be disposed side-by-side, with their emitting sides or facets coupled to the waveguide concentrator, which provides a tight array of output light ports on a common output plane of the concentrator. The output diverging beams at the array of output light ports are coupled to a collimator, which collimates the beams and couples them to an angular scanner for scanning the collimated light beams together across the field of view of the display.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 2, 2019Publication date: October 1, 2020Inventors: Daniel Guenther Grief, Scott Charles McEldowney, Stephen John Holmes, Chadwick Brian Martin, Stephen James McNally, John Goward
-
Publication number: 20200251638Abstract: For small, high-resolution, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, such as for a near-eye display in an artificial-reality headset, LEDs are spaced closely together. A backplane can be used to drive an array of LEDs in an LED display. A plurality of interconnects electrically couple the backplane with the array of LEDs. The backplane can have a different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than the array of LEDs. During bonding of the backplane to the array of LEDs, CTE mismatch can cause misalignment of bonding sites. The higher the bonding temperature, the greater the misalignment of bonding sites. Lower temperature bonding, using materials with lower melting or bonding temperatures, can be used to mitigate misalignment during bonding so that interconnects can be more closely spaced, which can allow LEDs to be more closely spaced, to enable a higher-resolution display.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 22, 2019Publication date: August 6, 2020Inventors: Daniel Henry Morris, John Goward