Abstract: A near-eye display has a light-guide optical element (LOE) with two major parallel external surfaces. An image projector introduces image illumination into the LOE so as to propagate by internal reflection. The image projector includes one or more light-generating laser diode operated by a controller. A coupling-out arrangement includes a set of mutually-parallel, partially-reflective surfaces associated with the LOE at an oblique angle to the major external surfaces for coupling the illumination out of the LOE towards the eye of the observer. The light-generating laser diode has a characteristic variation of coherence length of generated light as a function of diode actuation power. The controller actuates the laser diode at a level of diode actuation power that generates light with a coherence length that is less than twice a spacing between adjacent partially-reflective surfaces of the coupling-out arrangement.