Augmented reality display including an eyepiece having a transparent emissive display

Abstract

An augmented reality head-mounted display system includes an eyepiece with a transparent emissive display. The eyepiece and the transparent emissive display are located in the optical path of the user's eye so as to transmit light into the user's eye to form an image. Due to the transparent nature of the display, the user can see the external environment through the transparent emissive display. The transmissive emissive display includes a plurality of emitters that are configured to emit light into the user's eye. A first variable focus optical element is located between the transparent emissive display and the user's eye and is configured to modify the emitted light to provide an appropriate amount of divergence for image information to be interpreted by the user as being at a particular depth plane. A second variable focus optical element is located between the transparent emissive display and the environment and is configured to offset the effect of the first variable focus optical element on the view of the environment.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 571,203, filed on October 11, 2017, and entitled “AUGMENTED REALITY DISPLAY COMPRISING EYEPIECE HAVING A TRANSPARENT EMISSIVE DISPLAY,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0003] Incorporated by Reference

[0004] This application incorporates by reference the entire contents of each of the following patent applications: U.S. Application Serial No. 14 / 555,585, filed on November 27, 2014; U.S. Publication Serial No. 2015 / 0205126, published on July 23, 2015; Serial No. 14 / 690,401, filed on April 18, 2015, as a subsidiary of Serial No. 2015 / 0302652, published on October 22, 2015 U.S. published U.S. application serial number 14 / 212,961, filed on March 14, 2014, now U.S. Patent serial number 9,417,452, published on August 16, 2016; U.S. published U.S. application serial number 14 / 331,218, filed on July 14, 2014, now published as U.S. Serial No. 2015 / 0309263 on October 29, 2015; U.S. published U.S. application serial number 14 / 212,961, filed on March 14, 2014, now published as U.S. Patent serial number 9,417,452, published on August 16, 2016; U.S. published U.S. application serial number 14 / 331,218, filed on July 14, 2014, now published as U.S. Serial No. 2015 / 0309263 on October 29, 2015; No. 15 / 481,255 (attorney docket number MLEAP.059A), filed on 23 February 2018, and published as U.S. published serial number 2017 / 0293145 on October 12, 2017; No. 62 / 518,539 (attorney docket number MLEAP.119PR), filed on June 12, 2017; No. 16 / 006,080 (attorney docket number MLEAP.119A), filed on June 12, 2018, and published as U.S. published serial number 2017 / 0239177 on August 23, 2018. Technical Field

[0005] The present disclosure relates to display systems, and more particularly, to augmented reality display systems. Background Art

[0006] Modern computing and display technologies facilitate the use of so-called "virtual reality" or "augmented reality" experiences, in which digitally reproduced images, or portions thereof, are presented to a user in a manner that appears real or can be perceived as real. Virtual reality or "VR" scenes generally involve the presentation of digital or virtual image information that is opaque to otherwise actual real-world visual input, while augmented reality or "AR" scenes generally involve the presentation of digital or virtual image information as an enhancement to the visualization of the real world around the user. A mixed reality or "MR" scene is an AR scene, and generally involves virtual objects that are integrated into and responsive to the natural world. For example, in an MR scene, AR image content may be occluded by objects in the real world or perceived as interacting with objects in the real world.

[0007] refer to Figure 1 , shows an augmented reality scene 10 in which a user of AR technology sees a real-world park-like setting 20 that features people, trees, buildings in the background, and a concrete platform 30. In addition to these items, the user of AR technology also perceives that he "sees" "virtual content," such as a robot statue 40 standing on the real-world platform 30, and a flying cartoon-like avatar character 50 that appears to be an avatar of a bumblebee, even though these elements 40, 50 do not exist in the real world. Because the human visual perception system is complex, it is extremely challenging to produce AR technology that helps to present virtual image elements comfortably, naturally, and richly among other virtual or real-world image elements.

[0008] The systems and methods disclosed herein address various challenges associated with AR and VR technologies. Summary of the invention

[0009] Various examples of head-mounted display systems including an eyepiece with a transparent emissive display that can be used for augmented reality are described herein.

[0010] Example - Part 1

[0011] Example 1: A head-mounted display system configured to project light into a user's eyes to display augmented reality image content in the user's field of view, the head-mounted display system comprising:

[0012] a frame configured to be supported on the user's head; and

[0013] an eyepiece disposed on the frame, at least a portion of the eyepiece being transparent and disposed at a position in front of an eye of the user when the user wears the head mounted display so that the transparent portion transmits light from an environment in front of the user toward the eye of the user to provide a view of the environment in front of the user,

[0014] Wherein, the eyepiece includes a transparent emissive display having a plurality of emitters, the transparent emissive display being configured to emit light into the user's eyes to display augmented reality image content to the user's field of view, the transparent emissive display being transparent and emissive in an area, and the transparent emissive display being disposed at a position in front of the user's eyes when the user wears the head-mounted display, so that the transparent emissive display transmits light from the environment in front of the user to the user's eyes through the transparent emissive area to provide a view of the environment in front of the user.

[0015] Example 2: The system of Example 1, wherein the transparent emissive display comprises an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display.

[0016] Example 3: The system according to Example 1 or 2 further includes: a proximal lens array, which is arranged on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the proximal lens array is between the transparent emissive display and the user's eyes.

[0017] Example 4. The system of Example 3, wherein the proximal lens array is configured to reduce divergence of light emitted by the transparent emissive display.

[0018] Example 5: A system according to Example 3 or 4, wherein the proximal lens array includes lenses with positive optical power.

[0019] Example 6: A system according to any of Examples 3 to 5, wherein the proximal lens array is configured to collimate light emitted by the transparent emissive display.

[0020] Example 7: A system according to Example 6, wherein the proximal lens array includes a lens with positive optical power arranged at a focal length away from the emitter.

[0021] Example 8: The system according to any of the above examples further includes a distal lens array, which is arranged on the distal side of the transparent emissive display opposite to the proximal side, so that the distal lens array is between the transparent emissive display and the environment in front of the user.

[0022] Example 9: A system according to Example 8, wherein the distal lens array has an optical focal length that offsets the optical focal length introduced by the proximal lens array to reduce the refractive effect of the proximal lens array on the view of the environment in front of the user.

[0023] Example 10: The system according to any of the above examples further includes a proximal variable-focus optical element, which is arranged on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the proximal variable-focus optical element is between the transparent emissive display and the user's eyes.

[0024] Example 11: A system according to Example 10, wherein the proximal variable-focus optical element has an electrical input end, and the electrical input end is configured to receive an electrical signal to change the state of the variable-focus optical element and the focus of the variable-focus optical element.

[0025] Example 12: A system according to Example 10 or 11, wherein the proximal variable focus optical element is configured to change the divergence of light emitted from the emissive display so that different image content appears as if emitted from different distances in front of the eyepiece.

[0026] Example 13: A system according to any of Examples 10 to 12, wherein the proximal variable focus optical element is configured to change between two states that introduce different negative optical focal powers to change the divergence of light from the transparent emissive display.

[0027] Example 14: A system according to Example 10 or 11, wherein the proximal variable focus optical element is configured to collimate light from the transparent emissive display when in one state.

[0028] Example 15: The system according to any of the above examples further includes a distal variable-focus optical element, which is arranged on the distal side of the transparent emissive display so that the distal variable-focus optical element is between the transparent emissive display and the environment in front of the user.

[0029] Example 16: A system according to Example 15, wherein the telescopic variable-focus optical element has an electrical input end, and the electrical input end is configured to receive an electrical signal to change the state of the telescopic variable-focus optical element and the focus of the telescopic variable-focus optical element.

[0030] Example 17: A system according to Example 15 or 16, wherein the distal variable-focus optical element is configured to provide an optical focal length that offsets the optical focal length introduced by the proximal variable-focus optical element to reduce the refractive effect of the proximal variable-focus optical element on the view of the environment in front of the user.

[0031] Example 18: The system according to any of the above examples further includes a shutter pair, which is arranged on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the shutter pair is between the transparent emissive display and the user's eyes.

[0032] Example 19: A system according to Example 18, wherein the shutter pair includes a first spatial light modulator and a second spatial light modulator, each of which includes a plurality of pixels, and the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator have an electrical input terminal, and the electrical input terminal is configured to receive an electrical signal to selectively change the transmission state of the pixel.

[0033] Example 20: The system according to Example 19 further includes an electronic device, which is electrically coupled to the electrical input ends of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator so that one or more pixels on the first spatial light modulator are transmissive and the surrounding pixels are opaque, and one or more of the pixels on the second spatial light modulator are transmissive and the surrounding pixels on the second spatial light modulator are opaque, so that light emitted from certain emitters of the transparent emissive display in a certain angle direction propagates through both the transmissive pixels of the first spatial light modulator and the transmissive pixels of the second spatial light modulator.

[0034] Example 21: The system according to any of the above examples further includes a distal shutter, which is arranged on the distal side of the transparent emissive display so that the distal shutter is between the transparent emissive display and the environment in front of the user.

[0035] Example 22: A system according to Example 21, wherein the distal shutter includes a spatial light modulator having a plurality of pixels, the distal shutter having an electrical input terminal configured to receive an electrical signal to selectively change the transmission state of the pixels.

[0036] Example 23: The system of Example 22 further includes an electronic device electrically coupled to the electrical input of the spatial light modulator so that one or more pixels on the spatial light modulator are transmissive and surrounding pixels are opaque to selectively block portions of the view of the environment in front of the user.

[0037] Example 24: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the transparent transmissive region extends across at least 50% of the transparent portion of the eyepiece.

[0038] Example 25: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the transparent transmissive region extends across at least 75% of the transparent portion of the eyepiece.

[0039] Example 26: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the transparent emission area is at least 4 square centimeters.

[0040] Example 27: The system according to any of the above examples further includes at least one shutter, which is arranged on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the at least one shutter is between the transparent emissive display and the user's eyes.

[0041] Example 28: A system according to Example 27, wherein the at least one shutter includes a spatial light modulator having a plurality of pixels, the spatial light modulator having an electrical input terminal configured to receive an electrical signal to selectively change the transmission state of the pixels.

[0042] Example 29: The system according to Example 28 further includes an electronic device that is electrically coupled to the electrical input end of the spatial light modulator so that one or more pixels on the spatial light modulator are transmissive and surrounding pixels are opaque, so that light emitted in a certain angle direction from certain emitters of the transparent emissive display propagates through both the transmissive pixels of the spatial light modulator.

[0043] Example 30: According to the system described in any of Examples 27 to 29, further comprising a proximal lens or a proximal lens array, which is arranged on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the proximal lens or the proximal lens array is between the transparent emissive display and the at least one shutter.

[0044] Example 31: A system according to Example 30, wherein the proximal lens or proximal lens array has a focal length and is arranged at a distance from the at least one shutter corresponding to the focal length so that different angular components of light from the transparent emissive display are focused at the at least one shutter.

[0045] Example 32: The system of any of the above examples further comprises an electronic device communicatively coupled to the proximal variable focus optical element.

[0046] Example 33: The display system of claim 32, wherein the electronic device is configured to adjust the optical focal length of the proximal variable focus optical element based on a depth for displaying image content.

[0047] Example 34: A system according to any of Examples 32 or 33, wherein the electronic device is communicatively coupled to the distal variable-focus optical element.

[0048] Example 35: A system according to any of Examples 32 to 34, wherein the electronic device is configured to adjust the optical focal length of the distal variable-focus optical element in response to the optical focal length of the proximal variable-focus optical element.

[0049] Example 36: The system of any of the above examples further comprises at least one sensor configured to monitor one or more characteristics of the user.

[0050] Example 37: The system of Example 36, wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one camera.

[0051] Example 38: A system according to Example 36 or 37, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to monitor the positioning of the user's eyes.

[0052] Example 39: The system of any of Examples 36 to 38, wherein the electronics are communicatively coupled to the transparent emissive display, and the at least one sensor and the electronics are configured to:

[0053] receiving output data from the at least one sensor indicative of one or more characteristics of the user; and

[0054] The optical power of the proximal variable focus optical element is adjusted based on the output data received from the at least one sensor.

[0055] Example 40: A system according to Example 39, wherein the electronic device is configured to adjust the optical focal length of the distal variable-focus optical element based on the output data received from the at least one sensor.

[0056] Example 41: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the transparent emissive display is configured to project divergent light toward the user to display image content.

[0057] Example 42: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the optical focal length of the proximal variable-focus optical element and / or the distal variable-focus optical element is configured to provide vision correction for the user's vision through adjustment.

[0058] Example 43: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the optical focal length of the proximal variable-focus optical element and / or the distal variable-focus optical element is configured to be adjusted according to a prescription for correcting the user's vision at two or more distances.

[0059] Example 44: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the optical focal length of the proximal variable-focus optical element and / or the distal variable-focus optical element is configured to be adjusted according to a prescription for correcting the user's vision.

[0060] Example 45: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the proximal variable-focus optical element and / or the distal variable-focus optical element includes a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between two substrates.

[0061] Example 46: A system according to Example 45, wherein the proximal variable-focus optical element and / or the distal variable-focus optical element includes an electrode that changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer when a voltage is applied.

[0062] Example 47: The system of Example 45 or 46, wherein the substrate comprises glass.

[0063] Example 48: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the electronic device is configured to change the refractive index of the proximal variable-focus optical element and / or the distal variable-focus optical element by applying an electric current or a voltage.

[0064] Example 49: A system according to any one of Examples 3 to 48, wherein the proximal lens array and / or the distal lens array comprises a microlens array.

[0065] Example 50: A system according to any one of Examples 3 to 49, wherein the proximal lens array and / or the distal lens array comprises a wave plate lens array.

[0066] Example 51: A system according to any one of Examples 3 to 50, wherein the proximal lens array and / or the distal lens array includes a wavelength selective lens array.

[0067] Example 52: A system according to any one of Examples 3 to 51, wherein the proximal lens array and / or the distal lens array have optical focal powers with opposite signs.

[0068] Example 53: The system according to any of the above examples further includes one or more reflective optical elements with optical focal length arranged on the distal side of the transparent emissive display.

[0069] Example 54: A system according to any of Example 53, wherein the one or more reflective optical elements include one or more cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lenses.

[0070] Example 55: A system according to any of Example 53, wherein the one or more reflective optical elements include a cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lens array.

[0071] Example 56: The system of any one of Examples 53 to 55, further comprising a delay device located between the transparent emissive display and the one or more reflective optical elements.

[0072] Example 57: A system according to Example 56, wherein the delay device includes a quarter wave plate.

[0073] Example 58: A system according to any of Examples 3 to 57, wherein the proximal lens array includes a plurality of lenses, different ones of the lenses being optically coupled to corresponding pixel groups of the transparent emissive display.

[0074] Example 59: A system according to Example 58, wherein the electronic device is configured to control two or more pixel groups of the transparent emissive display optically coupled to two or more corresponding lenses in the proximal lens array according to the same illumination pattern.

[0075] Example 60: The system of Example 58, wherein each pixel group of the transparent emissive display is configured to display image information from a different perspective.

[0076] Example 61: The system according to any of the above examples further includes one or more liquid crystal layers located between the transparent emissive display and the proximal variable-focus optical element and / or the distal variable-focus optical element, wherein the electronic device is configured to apply current or voltage to pixels of the one or more liquid crystal layers to selectively block part of the incident light.

[0077] Example 62: The system of Example 61, wherein the at least one processor is configured to apply a modulated current or voltage having a modulation frequency to pixels of the one or more liquid crystal layers.

[0078] Example 63: A system according to Example 62, wherein the modulation frequency is at least 60 Hz.

[0079] Example 64: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the proximal variable lens element and / or the distal variable lens element includes:

[0080] one or more wave plate lenses configured to provide a first optical power for light having a first polarization and a second optical power for light having a second polarization; and

[0081] one or more switchable wave plates located in the optical path, the one or more switchable wave plates configured to selectively change the polarization state of light propagating therethrough,

[0082] Wherein, the proximal variable lens element and / or the distal variable lens element are configured to provide adjustable corresponding optical focal lengths when corresponding electrical signals are applied.

[0083] Example 65: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the electronic device is configured to cause the proximal variable lens element and / or the distal variable lens element to synchronously switch between different states in a manner such that the first variable focus lens assembly and the second variable focus lens assembly impart a substantially constant net optical focal length to ambient light from the surrounding environment propagating therethrough.

[0084] Example 66: The system according to any of the above examples further includes at least one shutter, which is arranged on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the at least one shutter is between the transparent emissive display and the user's eyes.

[0085] Example 67: A system according to Example 66, wherein the at least one shutter includes a first spatial light modulator and a second spatial light modulator, each of which includes a plurality of pixels, and the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator have an electrical input terminal, and the electrical input terminal is configured to receive an electrical signal to selectively change the transmittance state of the pixel.

[0086] Example 68: The system according to Example 67 further includes an electronic device, which is electrically coupled to the electrical input ends of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator so that one or more pixels on the first spatial light modulator are transmissive and surrounding pixels are opaque, and one or more of the pixels on the second spatial light modulator are transmissive and surrounding pixels on the second spatial light modulator are opaque, so that light in a certain angle direction emitted from certain emitters of the transparent emissive display propagates through both the transmissive pixels of the first spatial light modulator and the transmissive pixels of the second spatial light modulator.

[0087] Example 69: The system according to any of the above examples further includes one or more reflective optical elements arranged on the distal side of the transparent emissive display.

[0088] Example 70: A system according to Example 69, wherein the reflective optical element is configured to receive light from the transparent emissive display and reflect the light toward the user's eyes.

[0089] Example 71: A system according to Example 69 or 70, wherein the one or more reflective optical elements include one or more liquid crystal reflective lenses.

[0090] Example 72: A system according to Example 69 or 70, wherein the one or more reflective optical elements include a liquid crystal reflective lens array.

[0091] Example 73: The system of any one of Examples 69 to 72, further comprising a delay device located between the transparent emissive display and the one or more reflective optical elements.

[0092] Example 74: A system according to Example 73, wherein the delay device comprises a quarter-wave delay device.

[0093] Example 75: The system according to any of the above examples further includes a proximal lens, which is arranged on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the proximal lens is between the transparent emissive display and the user's eyes.

[0094] Example 76: A system according to Example 75, wherein the proximal lens comprises a single lens.

[0095] Example 77: A system according to Example 75 or 76, wherein the proximal lens is configured to reduce the divergence of light emitted by the transparent emissive display.

[0096] Example 78: A system according to any of Examples 75 to 77, wherein the proximal lens comprises a lens having positive optical power.

[0097] Example 79: A system according to any of Examples 75 to 78, wherein the proximal lens is configured to collimate light emitted by the transparent emissive display.

[0098] Example 80: A system according to Example 79, wherein the proximal lens includes a lens with positive optical power disposed at a focal length away from the emitter.

[0099] Example 81: The system of any one of Examples 75 to 79, further comprising a distal lens disposed on a distal side of the transparent emissive display opposite to the proximal side so that the distal lens is between the transparent emissive display and the environment in front of the user.

[0100] Example 82: A system according to Example 81, wherein the distal lens comprises a single lens.

[0101] Example 83: A system according to Example 81 or 82, wherein the distal lens has an optical focal length that offsets the optical focal length introduced by the proximal lens to reduce the refractive effect of the proximal lens on the view of the environment in front of the user.

[0102] Example 84: A system according to Example 69 or 70, wherein the reflective optical element includes liquid crystal.

[0103] Example 85: A system according to any of the above examples, further comprising a wave plate lens.

[0104] Example 86: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the wave plate lens includes liquid crystal.

[0105] Example 87: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the wave plate lens is reflective.

[0106] Example 88: A system according to any of the above examples, further comprising a wave plate lenslet array.

[0107] Example 89: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the wave plate lenslet array includes liquid crystal.

[0108] Example 90: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the wave plate lenslet array is reflective.

[0109] Example 91: A system according to Examples 69 to 90, wherein the one or more reflective optical elements include one or more liquid crystal reflective wave plate lenses.

[0110] Example 92: The system of Examples 69 to 90, wherein the one or more reflective optical elements comprise a liquid crystal reflective wave plate lens array.

[0111] Example 93: A system according to any of Examples 69 to 91, wherein the one or more reflective optical elements include one or more cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lenses.

[0112] Example 94: A system according to any of Examples 69 to 92, wherein the one or more reflective optical elements include a cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lens array.

[0113] Example 95: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the proximal lens array includes liquid crystal.

[0114] Example 96: A system according to any of the above examples, wherein the telephoto lens array includes liquid crystal.

[0115] Example 97: The system of any of the above examples further includes a proximal lens located on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display.

[0116] Example 98: The system of any of the above examples further comprises a distal lens located on the distal side of the transparent emissive display.

[0117] Example - Part 2

[0118] Example 1: A display system comprising:

[0119] A head mounted display configured to project light toward a viewer to display image information in one or more depth planes, the display comprising:

[0120] a light emitting panel configured to generate light, wherein the light emitting panel is further configured to allow light from an object in a surrounding environment to propagate through the surrounding environment to the viewer;

[0121] a first variable focus lens assembly located between the light emitting panel and a first eye of the viewer;

[0122] a second variable focus lens assembly located between the light emitting panel and the surrounding environment; and

[0123] at least one sensor configured to monitor one or more characteristics of the viewer;

[0124] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the light emitting panel and the at least one sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

[0125] receiving output data from the at least one sensor indicative of one or more characteristics of the viewer; and

[0126] The optical power of the first and second variable-focus lens assemblies is adjusted based on the output data received from the at least one sensor.

[0127] Example 2: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to adjust the optical focal length of the first variable focus lens assembly and the second variable focus lens assembly depending on a depth plane used to display the image information.

[0128] Example 3: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to adjust the optical focal length of the second variable focus lens assembly in response to the optical focal length of the first variable focus lens assembly.

[0129] Example 4: The display system of Example 1, wherein one or more emitters in the light emitting panel are configured to project divergent light toward the viewer to display the image information.

[0130] Example 5: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the at least one sensor includes at least one camera configured to monitor the positioning of the first eye of the viewer.

[0131] Example 6: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the optical focal length of the first variable focus lens assembly and / or the second variable focus lens assembly is adjusted according to a prescription for correcting the viewer's vision at two or more distances.

[0132] Example 7: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the first variable focus lens assembly and / or the second variable focus lens assembly includes a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between two substrates.

[0133] Example 8: A display system according to Example 7, wherein the first variable focus lens assembly and / or the second variable focus lens assembly includes an electrode that changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer when a voltage is applied.

[0134] Example 9: The display system of Example 7, wherein the substrate comprises glass.

[0135] Example 10: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to change the refractive index of the first variable focus lens assembly and / or the second variable focus lens assembly by applying an electric current or a voltage.

[0136] Example 11: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the light-emitting panel includes an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) film.

[0137] Example 12: The display system of Example 11, wherein the display further comprises a lens array optically coupled to the OLED film.

[0138] Example 13: A display system according to Example 12, wherein the lens array is located between the OLED film and the first variable focus lens assembly.

[0139] Example 14: A display system according to Example 13, wherein the lens array includes a microlens array.

[0140] Example 15: A display system according to Example 13, wherein the lens array includes a wave plate lens array.

[0141] Example 16: A display system according to Example 13, wherein the lens array includes a wavelength selective lens array.

[0142] Example 17: The display system of Example 13, wherein the display further comprises another lens array located between the OLED film and the second variable focus lens assembly,

[0143] The two lens arrays have optical powers with opposite signs.

[0144] Example 18: A display system according to Example 12, wherein the lens array is located between the OLED film and the second variable focus lens assembly.

[0145] Example 19: A display system according to Example 13, wherein the lens array includes a cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lens array.

[0146] Example 20: A display system according to Example 13, wherein the display further includes a quarter wave plate located between the OLED film and the cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lens array.

[0147] Example 21: The display system of Example 12, wherein each lens in the lens array is optically coupled to a corresponding pixel group of the OLED film.

[0148] Example 22: A display system according to Example 21, wherein the at least one processor is configured to control two or more pixel groups of the OLED film optically coupled to two or more corresponding lenses in the lens array according to the same illumination pattern.

[0149] Example 23: The display system of Example 21, wherein each pixel group of the OLED film is configured to display image information from a different viewing angle.

[0150] Example 24: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the display further includes one or more liquid crystal layers located between the light-emitting panel and the first variable focus lens assembly, wherein the at least one processor is configured to apply current or voltage to pixels of the one or more liquid crystal layers to selectively block a portion of incident light.

[0151] Example 25: The display system of Example 24, wherein the at least one processor is configured to apply pulses of current or voltage to pixels of the one or more liquid crystal layers at a specific modulation frequency.

[0152] Example 26: A display system according to Example 25, wherein the specific modulation frequency is at least 60 Hz.

[0153] Example 27: A display system according to Example 1, wherein the first variable focus lens assembly and the second variable focus lens assembly include:

[0154] one or more wave plate lenses configured to provide a first optical power for light having a first polarization and a second optical power for light having a second polarization; and

[0155] one or more switchable wave plates located in the optical path, wherein each of the one or more switchable wave plates is configured to selectively change the polarization state of light propagating therethrough, and

[0156] Wherein, the first variable-focus lens assembly and the second variable-focus lens assembly are configured to provide adjustable corresponding optical focal lengths when corresponding electrical signals are applied.

[0157] Example 28: A display system according to Example 27, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the first variable focus lens assembly and the second variable focus lens assembly to synchronously switch between different states in a manner such that the first variable focus lens assembly and the second variable focus lens assembly impart a substantially constant net optical focal length to ambient light from the surrounding environment propagating therethrough. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0158] Figure 1 A user's view of augmented reality (AR) through an AR device is shown.

[0159] Figure 2 A conventional display system for simulating three-dimensional imagery for a user is shown.

[0160] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C The relationship between the radius of curvature and the focal radius is shown.

[0161] Figure 4A A representation of the accommodation-vergence response of the human visual system is shown.

[0162] Figure 4B Examples of different accommodation and convergence states of a pair of eyes of a user are shown.

[0163] Figure 4C An example of a top view representation of a user viewing content via a display system is shown.

[0164] Figure 4D Another example of a top view representation of a user viewing content via a display system is shown.

[0165] Figure 5 Aspects of a method for simulating three-dimensional imagery by modifying wavefront divergence are shown.

[0166] Figure 6 An example of a waveguide stack for outputting image information to a user is shown.

[0167] Figure 7 An example of an outgoing light beam output by a waveguide is shown.

[0168] Figure 8 An example of a stacked waveguide assembly is shown where each depth plane includes an image formed using multiple different component colors.

[0169] Fig.9A A cross-sectional side view of an example of a stacked waveguide group that each includes an in-coupling optical element is shown.

[0170] Fig. 9B Shows Fig.9A A perspective view of an example of multiple stacked waveguides.

[0171] Fig. 9C Shows Fig.9A and Fig. 9B A top plan view of an example of multiple stacked waveguides.

[0172] Fig.9D An example of a wearable display system is shown.

[0173] Fig. 10A shows a device including a transparent emissive display rather than a 9A to 9D An example of an augmented reality display for an eyepiece with a waveguide stack as shown. A transparent emissive display is shown positioned between a pair of variable focus optical elements. The variable focus optical elements are configured to modify the divergence and / or convergence of light emitted from the transparent emissive display and / or the environment.

[0174] Fig. 10B Shown with Fig. 10A A transparent emissive display similar to the one shown is disposed between a pair of lens arrays, which are located between a pair of variable focus optical elements.

[0175] Fig. 10C It shows that the Fig. 10B An example of an augmented reality display for an eyepiece with a transparent emissive display is shown, but instead of the transparent emissive display being located between a pair of lens arrays, a single lens array is positioned on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display between the transparent emissive display and the user's eye.

[0176] Fig. 10D Shown with Fig. 10B An eyepiece similar to the one shown, in which a transparent emissive display is disposed between a pair of lens arrays and a pair of variable focus optical elements. Fig. 10D A first mode of operation of an augmented reality display is shown, wherein similar (or identical) pixel patterns are illuminated behind corresponding lenses of the lens array. Fig. 10DIt is shown that the angle of light output from multiple lenses in the array is the same. Such a configuration can improve eye positioning tolerance without losing image content.

[0177] Fig.10E Shows Fig.10E A second different operating mode of the augmented reality display, wherein different pixel patterns are illuminated behind corresponding lenses of the lens array. Fig.10E It is shown that the angles of light output from multiple lenses in the array are not the same. Instead, the angular component varies across the entire lenslet array. However, the system is configured so that different lenses provide different perspectives of the presented image content.

[0178] Fig.10F An example of an augmented reality display including a transparent emissive display positioned between a pair of wave plate lens arrays positioned between a pair of variable focus optical elements is shown.

[0179] Figure 10G An example of an augmented reality display including an eyepiece having a transparent emissive display located between a pair of lenses (e.g., afocal lenses) is shown. The pair of lenses (e.g., afocal lenses) is located between a pair of variable focus optical elements.

[0180] Fig. 10H Shows such as FIG. 10A to FIG. 10G An example portion of a transparent emissive display is shown.

[0181] Fig.11 The augmented reality display of Figure 10 is shown, and the augmented reality display further includes a shutter configured to block light from certain objects in the outside world. The shutter includes a plurality of pixels, each of which can switch between transparent and opaque in response to an electrical signal.

[0182] Fig. 12A An example of an augmented reality display is shown, which includes a transparent emissive display and a pair of shutters configured to select an angle of light emitted from the transparent emissive display corresponding to a desired image position. The shutter includes a plurality of pixels, each pixel capable of switching between transparent and opaque in response to an electrical signal.

[0183] Fig. 12B Shown by Fig. 12A Example paths of light rays emitted by a transparent emissive display, some of which are blocked by pixels in an opaque state in a shutter and some of which propagate through pixels in a transparent state in the shutter.

[0184] Fig.13The augmented reality display of FIG. 12 is shown, further comprising a shutter configured to block light from certain objects in the outside world.

[0185] Fig.14 An example of an augmented reality display is shown that includes an eyepiece with a rearward transparent emissive display, a quarter wave plate or quarter wave retarder, and a reflective wave plate lenslet array.

[0186] Fig.15 Shows Fig.14 Example operation of an augmented reality display.

[0187] Fig.16 shows a pair of variable focus optical elements sandwiched between Fig.14 augmented reality display.

[0188] Fig.17A An example of a wave plate lens including liquid crystal is shown.

[0189] Fig. 17B Another example of a wave plate lens including liquid crystal is shown.

[0190] Fig. 17C An example of a wave plate lens is shown that provides different optical powers to diverge or converge light propagating therethrough depending on the polarization of the light and the incident side of the light.

[0191] Fig.17D An example of a wave plate lens is shown that provides different optical powers to diverge or converge light propagating therethrough depending on the polarization of the light and the incident side of the light.

[0192] Fig.18A An example of an adaptive lens assembly including a wave plate lens and a switchable wave plate is shown.

[0193] Fig.18B shows operation with the switchable wave plate disabled Fig.18A An example of an adaptive lens assembly.

[0194] Fig. 18C shows the operation with the switchable wave plate activated Fig.18A An example of an adaptive lens assembly.

[0195] Fig.19 Examples of multiple virtual depth planes that can be generated using a display device are shown.

[0196] FIG. 20A to FIG. 20C An example reflective diffractive lens that can be implemented as part of a display device is shown, where the reflective diffractive lens is formed from a patterned cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) material that acts as a reflective polarizer.

[0197] Fig.21A An example of chromatic aberration observed in a diffractive lens is shown.

[0198] Fig.21B An example reflective diffractive lens including a plurality of reflective diffractive lenses in a stacked configuration is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0199] Reference will now be made to the drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, the drawings are schematic and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0200] Figure 2 A conventional display system for simulating three-dimensional imagery for a user is shown. It should be understood that the user's eyes are spaced apart from one another, and when viewing a real object in space, each eye has a slightly different view of the object, and may form an image of the object at a different location on the retina of each eye. This may be referred to as binocular disparity, and may be used by the human visual system to provide a sense of depth. Conventional display systems simulate binocular disparity by presenting two distinct images 190, 200 having slightly different views of the same virtual object, one image for each eye 210, 220, corresponding to each eye's view of the virtual object as a real object at a desired depth. These images provide binocular cues that the user's visual system can interpret to infer a sense of depth.

[0201] Continue to refer Figure 2 , the images 190, 200 are spaced a distance 230 from the eyes 210, 220 along the z-axis. The z-axis is parallel to the optical axis of the viewer with the eyes fixating on an object at optical infinity directly in front of the viewer. The images 190, 200 are flat and located at a fixed distance from the eyes 210, 220. Based on slightly different views of virtual objects in the images presented to the eyes 210, 220, respectively, the eyes can naturally rotate so that the image of the object falls on corresponding points on the retina of each eye, thereby maintaining a single binocular vision. This rotation can cause the line of sight of each eye 210, 220 to converge to a point in space where the virtual object is perceived to be presented. Therefore, providing three-dimensional imagery generally involves providing binocular cues that can manipulate the convergence of the user's eyes 210, 220, and the human visual system interprets these cues to provide a sense of depth.

[0202] However, producing a realistic and comfortable sense of depth is challenging. It will be appreciated that light from objects at different distances relative to the eye have wavefronts with different amounts of divergence. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3CThe relationship between distance and light divergence is shown. The distance between the object and the eye 210 is represented by R1, R2 and R3 in descending order of distance. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C As shown, as the distance to the object decreases, the light becomes more divergent. Conversely, as the distance increases, the light becomes more collimated. In other words, the light field generated by a point (an object or a portion of an object) can be considered to have a spherical wavefront curvature that is a function of the distance of the point from the user's eye. As the distance between the object and the eye 210 decreases, the curvature increases. Although in order to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C 2 and other figures herein for clarity while only a single eye 210 is shown, the discussion regarding eye 210 may apply to both eyes 210 and 220 of the viewer.

[0203] Continue to refer FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C , light from an object being gazed at by a viewer's eye can have different degrees of wavefront divergence. Due to different amounts of wavefront divergence, light can be focused differently by the eye lens, which in turn may require the lens to assume different shapes to form a focused image on the retina of the eye. In the absence of a focused image formed on the retina, the resulting retinal blur acts as an accommodation cue, which causes a change in the shape of the eye lens until a focused image is formed on the retina. For example, accommodation cues can trigger the ciliary muscles surrounding the lens of the eye to relax or contract, thereby adjusting the force applied to the suspensory ligaments that hold the lens, thereby changing the shape of the eye lens until the retinal blur of the object being gazed is eliminated or minimized, thereby forming a focused image of the object being gazed on the retina of the eye (e.g., the fovea). The process by which the eye lens changes shape may be referred to as accommodation, and the shape of the eye lens required to form a focused image of the object being gazed on the retina of the eye (e.g., the fovea) may be referred to as an accommodation state.

[0204] Reference now Figure 4A , shows a representation of the accommodation-convergence response of the human visual system. Movement of the eyes to fixate on an object causes the eyes to receive light from the object, wherein the light forms an image on each retina of the eyes. The presence of retinal blur in the image formed on the retina can provide accommodation cues, and the relative positions of the images on the retina can provide vergence cues. Accommodation cues cause accommodation to occur, causing the eye lenses to each assume a specific accommodation state that forms a focused image of the object on the retina (e.g., the fovea) of the eye. On the other hand, vergence cues cause vergence movements (eye rotations) to occur so that the images formed on each retina of each eye are at corresponding retinal points that maintain single binocular vision. At these positions, the eyes can be considered to have assumed a specific vergence state. Continue with reference to Figure 4A, accommodation can be understood as the process by which the eye achieves a specific accommodation state, and vergence can be understood as the process by which the eye achieves a specific vergence state. Figure 4A As shown, if the user looks at another object, the accommodation and convergence states of the eyes may change. For example, if the user looks at a new object at a different depth on the z-axis, the accommodation state may change.

[0205] Without being limited by theory, it is believed that a viewer of an object may perceive the object as "three-dimensional" due to a combination of vergence and accommodation. As described above, the vergence movement of the two eyes relative to each other (e.g., rotation of the eyes to bring the pupils closer or farther away from each other so that the eyes' line of sight converges to focus on an object) is closely related to the accommodation of the eye's lens. Under normal circumstances, changing the shape of the eye's lens to change the focus from one object to another at a different distance will automatically result in a matching change in vergence to the same distance, according to a relationship known as the "accommodation-vergence reflex." Likewise, under normal circumstances, a change in vergence will trigger a matching change in the shape of the lens.

[0206] Reference now Figure 4B , examples of different accommodation states and convergence states of eyes are shown. A pair of eyes 222a is looking at an object at optical infinity, while a pair of eyes 222b is looking at an object 221 that is less than optical infinity. It is worth noting that the convergence state of each pair of eyes is different, with the pair of eyes 222a looking straight ahead, while the pair of eyes 222 converge on the object 221. The accommodation state of the eyes forming each pair of eyes 222a and 222b can also be different, as represented by the different shapes of the lenses 210a, 220a.

[0207] Unexpectedly, many users of conventional "3-D" display systems find these conventional systems uncomfortable, or unable to perceive a sense of depth at all, because of the mismatch between the accommodation state and the convergence state in these displays. As described above, many stereoscopic or "3-D" display systems display a scene by providing a slightly different image to each eye. Such systems are uncomfortable for many viewers because, among other factors, they only provide different scene presentations and induce changes in the convergence state of the eyes, without corresponding changes in the accommodation state of these eyes. Instead, the image is shown by a display located at a fixed distance from the eye so that the eye views all image information in a single accommodation state. This arrangement works by causing a change in the convergence state without a matching change in the accommodation state, violating the "accommodation-convergence reflex" relationship. It can be believed that this mismatch causes viewer discomfort. A display system that provides a better match between accommodation and convergence can form a more realistic and comfortable three-dimensional image simulation.

[0208] Without being limited by theory, it is believed that the human eye can generally interpret a limited number of depth planes to provide depth perception. Therefore, a highly credible perceived depth simulation can be achieved by providing the eye with different presentations of images corresponding to each of these limited number of depth planes. In some embodiments, the different presentations can provide vergence cues and matching accommodation cues, thereby providing a physiologically correct accommodation-vergence match.

[0209] Continue to refer Figure 4B , two depth planes 240 are shown, corresponding to different distances in space from the eyes 210, 220. For a given depth plane 240, convergence cues may be provided by displaying an appropriate image of a different perspective for each eye 210, 220. In addition, for a given depth plane 240, the light forming the image provided to each eye 210, 220 may have a wavefront divergence corresponding to the light field produced by a point at that distance of the depth plane 240.

[0210] In the illustrated embodiment, the distance along the z-axis of the depth plane 240 containing point 221 is 1m. As used herein, the distance or depth along the z-axis can be measured using a zero point located at the exit pupil of the user's eye. Therefore, the depth plane 240 located at a depth of 1m corresponds to a distance of 1m from the user's eye exit pupil on the visual axis of these eyes, where the eyes point to optical infinity. As an approximation, the depth or distance along the z-axis can be measured as: the distance from the display in front of the user's eye (e.g., from the waveguide surface) plus the distance value between the device and the user's eye exit pupil. This value may be referred to as the exit pupil interval, and is the distance between the user's eye exit pupil and the display worn by the user in front of the user's eye. In practice, the exit pupil interval value may be a standardized value commonly used for all viewers. For example, if the exit pupil interval is 20mm, the depth plane at a depth of 1m may be located at a distance of 980mm in front of the display.

[0211] Reference now Figure 4C and Figure 4D , respectively show examples of matched accommodation-convergence distances and mismatched accommodation-convergence distances. Figure 4C As shown, the display system can provide an image of the virtual object to each eye 210, 220. The image can cause the eyes 210, 220 to present a state of convergence, in which the eyes converge on point 15 on the depth plane 240. In addition, the image can be formed by light having a wavefront curvature corresponding to the real object at the depth plane 240. Therefore, the eyes 210, 220 present an accommodation state, in which the image is focused on the retinas of these eyes. Therefore, the user can perceive that the virtual object is located at point 15 on the depth plane 240.

[0212] It should be understood that each of the accommodation state and the convergence state of the eyes 210, 220 is associated with a specific distance on the z-axis. For example, an object at a specific distance from the eyes 210, 220 causes the eyes to assume a specific accommodation state based on the distance of the object. The distance associated with a specific accommodation state may be referred to as the accommodation distance A. d Similarly, there is a specific vergence distance V associated with the eyes being in a specific vergence state or position relative to each other. d In cases where the accommodation distance and the vergence distance match, the relationship between accommodation and vergence can be considered physiologically correct. This is considered the most comfortable situation for the viewer.

[0213] However, in stereoscopic displays, the accommodation distance and the vergence distance may not always match. Figure 4D As shown, the image displayed to the eyes 210, 220 can be displayed with a wavefront divergence corresponding to the depth plane 240, and the eyes 210, 220 can present a specific accommodation state in which they focus on points 15a, 15b on the depth plane. However, the image displayed to the eyes 210, 220 may provide convergence cues to cause the eyes 210, 220 to converge on a point 15 that is not located on the depth plane 240. Therefore, in some embodiments, the accommodation distance corresponds to the distance from the exit pupil of the eyes 210, 220 to the depth plane 240, while the convergence distance corresponds to the larger distance from the exit pupil of the eyes 210, 220 to the point 15. The accommodation distance is different from the convergence distance. Therefore, there is an accommodation-convergence mismatch. This mismatch is considered undesirable and may cause discomfort to the user. It should be understood that the mismatch corresponds to the distance (e.g., V d -A d ) and can be characterized using diopters.

[0214] In some embodiments, it should be understood that a reference point other than the exit pupil of the eye 210, 220 may be used to determine the distance used to determine the accommodation-vergence mismatch, as long as the same reference point is used for both the accommodation distance and the vergence distance. For example, the distance may be measured from the cornea to the depth plane, from the retina to the depth plane, from the eyepiece (e.g., a waveguide of a display device) to the depth plane, etc.

[0215] Without being limited by theory, it is believed that users may still perceive accommodation-convergence mismatches of up to about 0.25 diopters, up to about 0.33 diopters, and up to about 0.5 diopters as physiologically correct without the mismatch itself causing noticeable discomfort. In some embodiments, the display systems disclosed herein (e.g., Figure 6In some embodiments, the display system 250 presents an image to a viewer with an accommodation-convergence mismatch of about 0.5 diopters or less. In some other embodiments, the accommodation-convergence mismatch of the image provided by the display system is about 0.33 diopters or less. In some other embodiments, the accommodation-convergence mismatch of the image provided by the display system is about 0.25 diopters or less, including about 0.1 diopters or less.

[0216] Figure 5 Aspects of a method for simulating a three-dimensional image by modifying wavefront divergence are shown. The display system includes a waveguide 270 configured to receive light 770 encoded with image information and output the light toward a user's eye 210. The waveguide 270 can output light 650 with a defined amount of wavefront divergence that corresponds to the wavefront divergence of a light field produced by a point on a desired depth plane 240. In some embodiments, the same amount of wavefront divergence is provided for all objects presented on the depth plane. Additionally, it will be shown that image information from a similar waveguide can be provided to the user's other eye.

[0217] In some embodiments, a single waveguide may be configured to output light having a set amount of wavefront divergence corresponding to a single depth plane or a finite number of depth planes, and / or the waveguide may be configured to output light of a finite wavelength range. Thus, in some embodiments, multiple waveguides or waveguide stacks may be utilized to provide different amounts of wavefront divergence for different depth planes and / or output light of different wavelength ranges. As used herein, it will be understood that at a depth plane, the contour of a planar or curved surface may be followed. In some embodiments, advantageously for simplicity, the depth plane may follow the contour of a planar surface.

[0218] Figure 6 An example of a waveguide stack for outputting image information to a user is shown. The display system 250 includes a stack of waveguides or a stacked waveguide assembly 260 that can be used to provide a three-dimensional perception to the eye / brain using multiple waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the display system 250 can be considered a light field display. In addition, the waveguide assembly 260 can also be referred to as an eyepiece.

[0219] In some embodiments, the display system 250 may be configured to provide a substantially continuous vergence cue and a plurality of discontinuous accommodation cues. The vergence cues may be provided by displaying a different image to each eye of the user, and the accommodation cues may be provided by outputting light that forms an image with selectable discrete amounts of wavefront divergence. In other words, the display system 250 may be configured to output light with variable wavefront divergence levels. In some embodiments, each discrete level of wavefront divergence corresponds to a particular depth plane and may be provided by a particular one of the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310.

[0220] Continue to refer Figure 6 , the waveguide assembly 260 may also include a plurality of features 320, 330, 340, 350 located between the waveguides. In some embodiments, the features 320, 330, 340, 350 may be one or more lenses. The waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 and / or the plurality of lenses 320, 330, 340, 350 may be configured to send image information to the eye at various levels of wavefront curvature or light divergence. Each waveguide level may be associated with a particular depth plane and may be configured to output image information corresponding to that depth plane. The image injection device 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 may be used as a light source for the waveguides and may be used to inject image information into the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, each waveguide may be configured to distribute incident light on each corresponding waveguide for output toward the eye 210, as described herein. Light is emitted from the output surfaces 410, 420, 430, 440, 450 of the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 and injected into the corresponding input surfaces 460, 470, 480, 490, 500 of the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310. In some embodiments, each of the input surfaces 460, 470, 480, 490, 500 may be an edge of the corresponding waveguide, or may be a portion of a major surface of the corresponding waveguide (i.e., one of the waveguide surfaces that directly faces the world 510 or the viewer's eye 210). In some embodiments, a single beam (e.g., a collimated beam) may be injected into each waveguide to output an entire field of cloned collimated beams directed toward the eye 210 at a specific angle (and divergence) corresponding to the depth plane associated with the particular waveguide. In some embodiments, a single one of the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 may be associated with multiple (three) of the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 and inject light into the multiple waveguides.

[0221] In some embodiments, the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 are separate displays, each of which generates image information for injection into a corresponding waveguide 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, respectively. In some other embodiments, the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 are outputs of a single multiplexed display, which may, for example, pipe the image information to each of the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 via one or more optical conduits (e.g., fiber optic cables). It should be understood that the image information provided by the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 may include light of different wavelengths or colors (e.g., different component colors as discussed herein).

[0222] In some embodiments, the light injected into the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 is provided by a light projector system 520, which includes a light module 530, which may include a light emitter such as a light emitting diode (LED). The light from the light module 530 may be directed and modified by a light modulator 530 (e.g., a spatial light modulator) via a beam splitter 550. The light modulator 530 may be configured to change the perceived intensity of the light injected into the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 to encode the light with image information. Examples of spatial light modulators include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), including liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) displays. It should be understood that the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 are shown schematically, and in some embodiments, these image injection devices can represent different optical paths and locations in a common projection system that is configured to output light to an associated one of the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310. In some embodiments, the waveguide of the waveguide assembly 260 can act as an ideal lens while relaying the light injected into the waveguide to the user's eyes. In this concept, the object can be the spatial light modulator 540 and the image can be an image on the depth plane.

[0223] In some embodiments, the display system 250 may be a scanning fiber display that includes one or more scanning fibers configured to project light in various patterns (e.g., raster scan, spiral scan, Lissajous pattern, etc.) into one or more waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 and ultimately into the viewer's eye 210. In some embodiments, the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 shown may schematically represent a single scanning fiber or a scanning fiber bundle configured to inject light into one or more of the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310. In some other embodiments, the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 shown may schematically represent a plurality of scanning optical fibers or scanning optical fiber bundles, each of which is configured to inject light into an associated waveguide of the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310. It should be understood that one or more optical fibers may be configured to transmit light from the optical module 530 to the one or more waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310. It should be understood that one or more intermediate optical structures may be provided between the one or more scanning optical fibers and the one or more waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 to, for example, redirect light emitted from the scanning optical fibers into the one or more waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310.

[0224] Controller 560 controls the operation of one or more of stacked waveguide assemblies 260, including the operation of image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400, light source 530, and light modulator 540. In some embodiments, controller 560 is part of local data processing module 140. Controller 560 includes programming (e.g., instructions in a non-transitory medium) that regulates the timing and provision of image information to waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 according to, for example, any of the various schemes disclosed herein. In some embodiments, controller 560 can be a single integrated device, or a distributed system connected by wired or wireless communication channels. In some embodiments, controller 560 can be a processing module 140 or 150 ( Fig.9D ) part.

[0225] Continue to refer Figure 6, the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 may be configured to propagate light within each respective waveguide by total internal reflection (TIR). The waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 may each be planar or have another shape (e.g., curved) having a top major surface and a bottom major surface and an edge extending between these top major surfaces and bottom major surfaces. In the illustrated configuration, the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 may each include an outcoupling optical element 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 configured to extract light from the waveguide by redirecting the light propagating within each respective waveguide to the outside of the waveguide, thereby outputting image information to the eye 210. The extracted light may also be referred to as outcoupled light, and the outcoupling optical element may also be referred to as a light extraction optical element. At the location where the light propagating within the waveguide strikes the light extraction optical element, the extracted light beam may be output by the waveguide. The outcoupling optical element 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 may be, for example, a grating including diffractive optical features as discussed further herein. Although the outcoupling optical element 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 is shown disposed at the bottom major surface of the waveguide 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 for ease of description and clarity of depiction, in some embodiments, the outcoupling optical element 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 may be disposed at the top major surface and / or the bottom major surface, and / or may be disposed directly in the body of the waveguide 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 as discussed further herein. In some embodiments, the outcoupling optical element 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 may be formed in a material layer attached to a transparent substrate to form the waveguide 270, 280, 290, 300, 310. In some other embodiments, the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 may be a monolithic block of material, and the outcoupling optical elements 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 may be formed on a surface and / or within the block of material.

[0226] Continue to refer Figure 6As discussed herein, each waveguide 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 is configured to output light to form an image corresponding to a particular depth plane. For example, the waveguide 270 closest to the eye may be configured to deliver collimated light injected into such waveguide 270 to the eye 210. The collimated light may represent an optical infinity focal plane. The next upstream waveguide 280 may be configured to emit collimated light that is transmitted through a first lens 350 (e.g., a negative lens) before reaching the eye 210; such a first lens 350 may be configured to produce a slightly convex wavefront curvature so that the eye / brain interprets light from the next upstream waveguide 280 as coming from a first focal plane that is closer to the eye 210 from optical infinity inward. Similarly, the third upstream waveguide 290 transmits its output light through both the first lens 350 and the second lens 340 before reaching the eye 210; the combined optical power of the first lens 350 and the second lens 340 can be configured to produce another wavefront curvature increment so that the eye / brain interprets light from the third waveguide 290 as coming from a second focal plane that is further inward from optical infinity and closer to the person, rather than from the next upstream waveguide 280.

[0227] The other waveguide layers 300, 310 and lenses 330, 320 are similarly configured, with the highest waveguide 310 in the stack sending its output through all lenses between it and the eye to obtain a total focal power that represents the focal plane closest to the person. In order to compensate for the lens stack 320, 330, 340, 350 when viewing / interpreting light from the world 510 on the other side of the stacked waveguide assembly 260, a compensating lens layer 620 can be provided at the top of the stack to compensate for the total focal power of the lens stack 320, 330, 340, 350 below. This configuration provides as many perceived focal planes as there are available waveguide / lens pairs. Both the out-coupling optics of the waveguide and the focusing aspects of the lens can be static (i.e., not dynamic or electro-active). In some alternative embodiments, one or both of the out-coupling optics of the waveguide and the focusing aspects of the lens can be dynamic through the use of electro-active features.

[0228] In some embodiments, two or more of the waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 may have the same associated depth plane. For example, multiple waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 may be configured to output sets of images to the same depth plane, or multiple subsets of waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310 may be configured to output sets of images to the same multiple depth planes, one set per depth plane. This may provide advantages for forming tiled images to provide an extended field of view at those depth planes.

[0229] Continue to refer Figure 6, the outcoupling optical elements 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 can be configured to both redirect light out of their respective waveguides and output the light with an appropriate amount of divergence or collimation for a particular depth plane associated with the waveguide. Therefore, waveguides with different associated depth planes can have different configurations of outcoupling optical elements 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 that output light with different amounts of divergence depending on the associated depth plane. In some embodiments, the outcoupling optical elements 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 can be volume features or surface features that can be configured to output light at specific angles. For example, the outcoupling optical elements 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 can be volume holograms, surface holograms, and / or diffraction gratings. In some embodiments, the features 320, 330, 340, 350 may not be lenses; instead, they may simply be spacers (e.g., cladding and / or structures for forming air gaps).

[0230] In some embodiments, the outcoupling optical elements 570, 580, 590, 600, 610 are diffractive features that form a diffraction pattern, or "diffractive optical elements" (also referred to herein as "DOEs"). Preferably, the DOE has a sufficiently low diffraction efficiency that only a portion of the beam is deflected toward the eye 210 by each intersection of the DOE, while the remainder continues through the waveguide via TIR. Thus, the light carrying the image information is split into a plurality of related exit beams that exit the waveguide at a plurality of locations, resulting in a fairly uniform exit pattern toward the eye 210 for this particular collimated beam that bounces around within the waveguide.

[0231] In some embodiments, one or more DOEs may be switchable between an "on" state in which they actively diffract and an "off" state in which they do not appreciably diffract. For example, a switchable DOE may include a polymer dispersed liquid crystal layer in which a droplet includes a diffractive pattern in a host medium, and the refractive index of the droplet may be switched to substantially match the refractive index of the host material (in which case the pattern does not appreciably diffract incident light) or the droplet may be switched to a refractive index that mismatches the refractive index of the host medium (in which case the pattern actively diffracts incident light).

[0232] In some embodiments, a camera assembly 630 (e.g., a digital camera, including visible light and infrared light cameras) may be provided to capture images of the eye 210 and / or tissue surrounding the eye 210, for example, to detect user input and / or monitor a physiological state of the user. As used herein, a camera may be any image capture device. In some embodiments, the camera assembly 630 may include an image capture device and a light source to project light (e.g., infrared light) to the eye, which may then be reflected by the eye and detected by the image capture device. In some embodiments, the camera assembly 630 may be attached to the frame 80 ( Fig.9D ) and can be in electrical communication with processing modules 140 and / or 150, which can process image information from camera assembly 630. In some embodiments, one camera assembly 630 can be used for each eye to monitor each eye separately.

[0233] Reference now Figure 7 , shows an example of an outgoing beam output by a waveguide. One waveguide is shown, but it should be understood that the waveguide assembly 260 ( Figure 6 ) can play a similar role, where the waveguide assembly 260 includes multiple waveguides. Light 640 is injected into the waveguide 270 at the input surface 460 of the waveguide 270 and propagates within the waveguide 270 by TIR. At the point where the light 640 impinges on the DOE 570, a portion of the light emerges from the waveguide as an exit beam 650. The exit beams 650 are shown as being substantially parallel, but as discussed herein, they can also be redirected to propagate to the eye 210 at an angle (e.g., to form diverging exit beams) that depends on the depth plane associated with the waveguide 270. It should be understood that substantially parallel exit beams can be indicative of a waveguide having an out-coupling optical element that couples light out to form an image that appears to be set at a depth plane that is a large distance away from the eye 210 (e.g., optical infinity). Other waveguides or other sets of outcoupling optical elements may output more divergent exit beam patterns that would require the eye 210 to adapt to a closer distance to focus on the retina, and these beam patterns may be interpreted by the brain as light coming from a distance closer to the eye 210 than optical infinity.

[0234] In some embodiments, a full color image may be formed at each depth plane by superimposing images in each of each component color (eg, three or more component colors). Figure 8An example of a stacked waveguide assembly is shown, wherein each depth plane includes an image formed using a plurality of different component colors. The illustrated embodiment shows depth planes 240a to 240f, but more or fewer depths are also contemplated. Each depth plane may have three or more component color images associated therewith, including: a first image of a first color G; a second image of a second color R; and a third image of a third color B. Different depth planes are indicated in the figure by different diopters (dpt) following the letters G, R, and B. By way of example only, the number following each of these letters represents the diopters (1 / m), or the inverse of the distance of the depth plane from the viewer, and each box in the figure represents a separate component color image. In some embodiments, the precise placement of depth planes of different component colors may vary in order to account for differences in the eye's focus on light of different wavelengths. For example, different component color images of a given depth plane may be placed on depth planes corresponding to different distances from the user. Such an arrangement may increase visual acuity and user comfort, and / or may reduce chromatic aberration.

[0235] In some embodiments, light of each component color may be output by a single dedicated waveguide, and therefore, each depth plane may have multiple waveguides associated with it. In such embodiments, each box in the figure including the letters G, R, or B may be understood to represent a separate waveguide, and three waveguides may be provided for each depth plane, wherein three component color images are provided for each depth plane. Although the waveguides associated with each depth plane are shown as being adjacent to each other in this figure for ease of description, it should be understood that in a physical device, the waveguides may all be arranged as a stack with one waveguide per layer. In some other embodiments, multiple component colors may be output by the same waveguide, so that, for example, only a single waveguide may be provided for each depth plane.

[0236] Continue to refer Figure 8 , in some embodiments, G is green, R is red, and B is blue. In some other embodiments, other colors associated with other wavelengths of light (including magenta and cyan) may be used in addition to red, green, or blue, or other colors associated with other wavelengths of light may be used to replace one or more of red, green, or blue.

[0237] It should be understood that references to light of a given color throughout this disclosure will be understood to include light of one or more wavelengths within a range of wavelengths of light of the given color perceived by a viewer. For example, red light may include light of one or more wavelengths within a range of about 620 nm to 780 nm, green light may include light of one or more wavelengths within a range of about 492 nm to 577 nm, and blue light may include light of one or more wavelengths within a range of about 435 nm to 493 nm.

[0238] In some embodiments, the light source 530 ( Figure 6 ) can be configured to emit light at one or more wavelengths (e.g., infrared and / or ultraviolet wavelengths) outside the visual perception range of a viewer. In addition, the incoupling, outcoupling, and other light redirection structures of the waveguide of the display 250 can be configured to direct this light out of the display and toward the user's eye 210, e.g., for imaging and / or user stimulation applications.

[0239] Reference now Fig.9A In some embodiments, it may be desirable to redirect light impinging on a waveguide to couple the light into the waveguide. Incoupling optics may be used to redirect the light and couple the light into its corresponding waveguide. Fig.9A A cross-sectional side view of an example of a plurality of stacked waveguides or stacked waveguide groups 660 is shown, wherein each stacked waveguide includes an incoupling optical element. The waveguides can each be configured to output light of one or more different wavelengths, or light of one or more different wavelength ranges. It should be understood that stack 660 can correspond to stack 260 ( Figure 6 ), and the waveguide of the stack 660 shown can correspond to a portion of the plurality of waveguides 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, except that light from one or more of the image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 is injected into the waveguide from a location where it needs to be redirected for coupling.

[0240] The stacked waveguide group 660 shown includes waveguides 670, 680, and 690. Each waveguide includes an associated coupling optical element (which may also be referred to as a light input region on the waveguide), for example, a coupling optical element 700 disposed on a major surface (e.g., top major surface) of the waveguide 670, a coupling optical element 710 disposed on a major surface (e.g., top major surface) of the waveguide 680, and a coupling optical element 720 disposed on a major surface (e.g., top major surface) of the waveguide 690. In some embodiments, one or more of the coupling optical elements 700, 710, 720 may be disposed on the bottom major surface of the corresponding waveguide 670, 680, 690 (particularly where one or more coupling optical elements are reflective deflecting optical elements). As shown, the coupling optical elements 700, 710, 720 may be disposed on the top major surface of their corresponding waveguides 670, 680, 690 (or the top of the next layer of waveguides), particularly where these coupling optical elements are transmissive deflecting optical elements. In some embodiments, the coupling-in optical elements 700, 710, 720 can be disposed in the body of the respective waveguides 670, 680, 690. In some embodiments, as discussed herein, the coupling-in optical elements 700, 710, 720 are wavelength selective such that they selectively redirect light of one or more wavelengths while transmitting light of other wavelengths. Although shown as being on a side or corner of their respective waveguides 670, 680, 690, it should be understood that in some embodiments, the coupling-in optical elements 700, 710, 720 can be disposed in other areas of their respective waveguides 670, 680, 690.

[0241] As shown, the coupling optical elements 700, 710, 720 can be laterally offset from each other. In some embodiments, each coupling optical element can be offset so that the coupling optical element receives light without passing through another coupling optical element. For example, each coupling optical element 700, 710, 720 can be configured to receive light from a different image injection device 360, 370, 380, 390, and 400, such as Figure 6 As shown, the coupling-in optical element 700 , 710 , 720 may be separated (eg, laterally spaced apart) from the other coupling-in optical elements 700 , 710 , 720 , such that the coupling-in optical element does not substantially receive light from the other optical elements in the coupling-in optical elements 700 , 710 , 720 .

[0242] Each waveguide further includes an associated light distribution element, such as a light distribution element 730 disposed on a major surface (e.g., top major surface) of the waveguide 670, a light distribution element 740 disposed on a major surface (e.g., top major surface) of the waveguide 680, and a light distribution element 750 disposed on a major surface (e.g., top major surface) of the waveguide 690. In some other embodiments, the light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 may be disposed on the bottom major surface of the associated waveguides 670, 680, 690, respectively. In some other embodiments, the light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 may be disposed on the top major surface and the bottom major surface of the associated waveguides 670, 680, 690, respectively; or, the light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 may be disposed on different major surfaces of the top major surface and the bottom major surface in different associated waveguides 670, 680, 690, respectively.

[0243] The waveguides 670, 680, 690 may be separated and separated by layers of, for example, gas, liquid, and / or solid material. For example, as shown, layer 760a may separate waveguides 670 and 680; layer 760b may separate waveguides 680 and 690. In some embodiments, layers 760a and 760b are formed of a low refractive index material (i.e., a material having a lower refractive index than the material immediately adjacent to the waveguide forming the waveguides 670, 680, 690). Preferably, the refractive index of the material forming the layers 760a, 760b differs by 0.05 or more, or by 0.10 or less, from the refractive index of the material forming the waveguides 670, 680, 690. Advantageously, the low refractive index layers 760a, 760b may serve as cladding layers that promote total internal reflection (TIR) ​​of light through the waveguides 670, 680, 690 (e.g., TIR between the top major surface and the bottom major surface of each waveguide). In some embodiments, the layers 760a, 760b are formed of air. Although not shown, it is understood that the top and bottom of the illustrated waveguide set 660 may include an adjacent cladding layer.

[0244] Preferably, for ease of manufacturing and other considerations, the materials forming waveguides 670, 680, 690 are similar or the same, and the materials forming layers 760a, 760b are similar or the same. In some embodiments, the materials forming waveguides 670, 680, 690 can be different between one or more waveguides, and / or the materials forming layers 760a, 760b can be different, while still maintaining the various refractive index relationships described above.

[0245] Continue to refer Fig.9A , light rays 770, 780, 790 are incident on the waveguide group 660. It should be understood that light rays 770, 780, 790 may be injected through one or more image injection devices 360, 370, 380, 390, 400 ( Figure 6) are injected into waveguides 670, 680, and 690.

[0246] In some embodiments, the light rays 770, 780, 790 have different characteristics, e.g., different wavelengths corresponding to different colors or different wavelength ranges. The incoupling optical elements 700, 710, 720 each deflect incident light so that the light propagates through a respective one of the waveguides 670, 680, 690 by TIR. In some embodiments, the incoupling optical elements 700, 710, 720 each selectively deflect one or more specific wavelengths of light while transmitting other wavelengths to the underlying waveguide and associated incoupling optical element.

[0247] For example, the coupling-in optical element 700 can be configured to deflect light 770 having a first wavelength or wavelength range, while transmitting light 780 and light 790 having different second wavelengths or wavelength ranges, respectively. The transmitted light 780 impinges upon and is deflected by the coupling-in optical element 710, which is configured to deflect light of the second wavelength or wavelength range. The light 790 is deflected by the coupling-in optical element 720, which is configured to selectively deflect light of the third wavelength or wavelength range.

[0248] Continue to refer Fig.9A , the deflected light rays 770, 780, 790 are deflected so that they propagate through the corresponding waveguides 670, 680, 690; that is, the coupling-in optical element 700, 710, 720 of each waveguide deflects light into the corresponding waveguide 670, 680, 690 to couple the light into the corresponding waveguide. The light rays 770, 780, 790 are deflected at an angle that causes the light to propagate through the corresponding waveguides 670, 680, 690 by TIR. The light rays 770, 780, 790 propagate through the corresponding waveguides 670, 680, 690 by TIR until they impinge on the corresponding light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 of the waveguides.

[0249] Reference now Fig. 9B , showing Fig.9A 670, 680, 690 by TIR. Then, the light rays 770, 780, 790 are respectively irradiated on the light distribution elements 730, 740, 750. The light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 deflect the light rays 770, 780, 790 so that they propagate toward the outcoupling optical elements 800, 810, 820, respectively.

[0250] In some embodiments, the light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 are orthogonal pupil expanders (OPEs). In some embodiments, the OPEs deflect or distribute light to the outcoupling optical elements 800, 810, 820, and in some embodiments, may also increase the beam or spot size of the light as it propagates toward the outcoupling optical elements. In some embodiments, the light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 may be omitted, and the incoupling optical elements 700, 710, 720 may be configured to deflect light directly to the outcoupling optical elements 800, 810, 820. For example. Reference Fig.9A , the light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 can be replaced by outcoupling optical elements 800, 810, 820, respectively. In some embodiments, the outcoupling optical elements 800, 810, 820 are exit pupils (EP) or exit pupil expanders (EPE), which direct light into the viewer's eye 210 ( Figure 7 ). It should be understood that the OPE can be configured to increase the size of the eye box in at least one axis, and the EPE can increase the size of the eye box in an axis that intersects (e.g., is orthogonal) to the axis of the OPE. For example, each OPE can be configured to redirect a portion of the light that illuminates the OPE to the EPE of the same waveguide, while allowing the remainder of the light to continue to propagate along the waveguide. When the OPE is illuminated again, another portion of the remaining light is redirected to the EPE, and the remainder of that portion continues to propagate further along the waveguide, and so on. Similarly, when the EPE is illuminated, a portion of the illuminated light is directed out of the waveguide toward the user, and the remainder of that light continues to propagate through the waveguide until it illuminates the EP again, at which time another portion of the illuminated light is directed out of the waveguide, and so on. Therefore, each time a portion of the light is redirected by an OPE or EPE, a single beam of coupled-in light can be "copied", thereby forming a field of cloned beams, such as Figure 6 In some embodiments, the OPE and / or EPE may be configured to modify the size of the light beam.

[0251] Therefore, reference Fig.9A and 9BIn some embodiments, the waveguide group 660 includes waveguides 670, 680, 690 for each component color; coupling optical elements 700, 710, 720; light distribution elements (e.g., OPE) 730, 740, 750; and outcoupling optical elements (e.g., EP) 800, 810, 820. The waveguides 670, 680, 690 can be stacked with an air gap / cladding between each waveguide. The coupling optical elements 700, 710, 720 redirect or deflect the incident light (where different coupling optical elements receive light of different wavelengths) into their waveguides. The light then propagates at a certain angle, which will cause TIR within the corresponding waveguide 670, 680, 690. In the example shown, light ray 770 (e.g., blue light) is deflected by the first incoupling optical element 700 in the manner previously described and then continues to bounce along the waveguide, interacting with the light distribution element (e.g., OPE) 730 and the outcoupling optical element (e.g., EP) 800. Light rays 780 and 790 (e.g., green light and red light, respectively) will propagate through the waveguide 670, where light ray 780 impinges on and is deflected by the incoupling optical element 710. Light ray 780 then bounces along the waveguide 680 via TIR, continues to propagate to its light distribution element (e.g., OPE) 740, and then reaches the outcoupling optical element (e.g., EP) 810. Finally, light ray 790 (e.g., red light) propagates through the waveguide 690 impinges on the incoupling optical element 720 of the waveguide 690. The in-coupling optical element 720 deflects the light 790 so that it propagates by TIR to the light distribution element (e.g., OPE) 750 and then propagates by TIR to the out-coupling optical element (e.g., EP) 820. The out-coupling optical element 820 then finally couples the light 790 out to the viewer, who also receives out-coupled light from the other waveguides 670, 680.

[0252] Fig. 9C Shows Fig.9A and Fig. 9B A top plan view of an example of multiple stacked waveguides. As shown, the waveguides 670, 680, 690 and the associated light distribution elements 730, 740, 750 and associated coupling-out optical elements 800, 810, 820 of each waveguide can be vertically aligned. However, as discussed herein, the coupling-in optical elements 700, 710, 720 are not vertically aligned; instead, the coupling-in optical elements are preferably non-overlapping (e.g., laterally spaced apart as shown in the top view). As further discussed herein, this non-overlapping spatial arrangement facilitates one-to-one injection of light from different resources into different waveguides, thereby allowing a particular light source to be uniquely coupled to a particular waveguide. In some embodiments, arrangements including non-overlapping, spatially separated coupling-in optical elements may be referred to as shifted pupil systems, and the coupling-in optical elements within these arrangements may correspond to sub-pupils.

[0253] Fig.9D An example of a wearable display system 60 in which the various waveguides and related systems disclosed herein may be integrated is shown. In some embodiments, the display system 60 is Figure 6 System 250, Figure 6 Some parts of the system 60 are schematically shown in more detail. For example, Figure 6 The waveguide assembly 260 can be part of the display 70.

[0254] Continue to refer Fig.9D , the display system 60 includes a display 70, and various mechanical and electronic modules and systems that support the functions of the display 70. The display 70 can be coupled to a frame 80, which can be worn by a display system user or viewer 90, and is configured to position the display 70 in front of the user 90. In some embodiments, the display 70 can be regarded as glasses. In some embodiments, a speaker 100 is coupled to the frame 80 and is configured to be positioned near the ear canal of the user 90 (in some embodiments, another speaker (not shown) can be selectively positioned near the other ear canal of the user to provide stereo / plastic sound control). The display system 60 may also include one or more microphones 110 or other devices for detecting sound. In some embodiments, the microphone is configured to allow the user to provide input or commands to the system 60 (e.g., selection of voice menu commands, natural language questions, etc.) and / or may allow audio communication with other people (e.g., with other users of similar display systems). The microphone may be further configured as a peripheral sensor to collect audio data (e.g., sound from the user and / or the environment). In some embodiments, the display system 60 may further include one or more outward-facing environmental sensors 112 configured to detect objects, stimuli, people, animals, locations, or other aspects of the world around the user. For example, the environmental sensors 112 may include one or more cameras that may be positioned, for example, facing outward to capture images similar to at least a portion of the general field of view of the user 90. In some embodiments, the display system may also include peripheral sensors 120a that may be separate from the frame 80 and attached to the body of the user 90 (e.g., on the head, torso, limbs, etc. of the user 90). In some embodiments, the peripheral sensors 120a may be configured to acquire data characterizing a physiological state of the user 90. For example, the sensors 120a may be electrodes.

[0255] Continue to refer Fig.9D, the display 70 is operably coupled to a local data processing module 140 via a communication link 130 (such as via a wired lead or a wireless connection), and the local data processing module 140 can be installed in various configurations, such as fixedly attached to the frame 80, fixedly attached to a helmet or hat worn by the user, embedded in headphones, or otherwise removably attached to the user 90 (for example, in a backpack configuration, in a belt-connected configuration). Similarly, the sensor 120a can be operably coupled to the local processing and data module 140 via a communication link 120b (for example, via a wired lead or a wireless connection). The local processing and data module 140 may include a hardware processor, as well as digital memory, such as non-volatile memory (for example, flash memory or a hard drive), both of which can be used to assist in data processing, caching, and storage. Optionally, the local processor and data module 140 may include one or more central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), dedicated processing hardware, etc. Such data includes a) data captured by sensors (e.g., which may be operably coupled to the frame 80 or otherwise attached to the user 90), such as image capture devices (such as cameras), microphones, inertial measurement units, accelerometers, compasses, GPS units, radios, gyroscopes, and / or other sensors disclosed herein; and / or b) data (including data about virtual content) acquired and / or processed using the remote processing module 150 and / or remote data repository 160, which data may be transmitted to the display 70 after being processed or retrieved as described above. The local processing and data module 140 may be operably coupled to the remote processing module 150 and the remote data repository 160 via communication links 170, 180 (such as via a wired or wireless communication link) so that these remote modules 150, 160 are operably coupled to each other and can be used as resources for the local processing and data module 140. In some embodiments, the local processing and data module 140 may include one or more of an image capture device, a microphone, an inertial measurement unit, an accelerometer, a compass, a GPS unit, a radio, and / or a gyroscope. In some other embodiments, one or more of these sensors may be attached to the frame 80, or may be an independent structure that communicates with the local processing and data module 140 via a wired or wireless communication path.

[0256] Continue to refer Fig.9DIn some embodiments, the remote processing module 150 may include one or more processors configured to analyze and process data and / or image information, for example, including one or more central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), dedicated processing hardware, etc. In some embodiments, the remote data repository 160 may include a digital data storage facility that may be obtained via the Internet or other network configurations in a "cloud" resource configuration. In some embodiments, the remote data repository 160 may include one or more remote servers that provide information to the local processing and data module 140 and / or the remote processing module 150, such as information for generating augmented reality content. In some embodiments, all data is stored and executed in the local processing and data module, allowing for full autonomous use from the remote module. Optionally, an external system (e.g., a system of one or more processors, one or more computers) including a CPU, GPU, etc. may perform at least part of the processing (e.g., generating image information, processing data), and provide information to the modules 140, 150, 160, and receive information from the modules 140, 150, 160, for example, via a wireless or wired connection.

[0257] Reference now Fig. 10A In some embodiments, the eyepiece includes a system 1000-A that includes a transparent emissive display 1010. FIG. 10 shows an example of an augmented reality display including an eyepiece having a transparent emissive display 1010 rather than a display such as 9A to 9D The waveguide stack shown.

[0258] The transparent emissive display 1010 includes, for example, a plurality of emitters arranged in an array. In some cases, for example, the transparent emissive display 1010 may include enough pixels to produce a resolution of 720p, 1080p, 4K, or 8K. The resolution and number of pixels may be within any range defined by any of these values. Values ​​not within these ranges are also possible. The number of pixels in the transparent emissive display 1010 may depend on the eyepiece size and / or the desired optical quality of the image content.

[0259] The transparent display 1010 may include a transparent film spatial light modulator. The transparent display 1010 may include a transparent organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. The multiple emitters may include multiple organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). In some designs, the OLED display may include a relatively thin and flexible OLED film. In some designs, the transparent display 1010 may include a quantum dot light emitting diode (QLED or QD-LED) display. Other types of transparent displays are also possible.

[0260] The transparent emissive display 1010 may be included in an eyepiece that is located in the optical path of the eye 210. Thus, the transparent emissive display 1010 may be located in the optical path of the eye 210. The eyepiece and the transparent emissive display 1010 may be supported by a frame that is configured to be disposed on a head so that the eyepiece and the transparent emissive display 1010 are in the optical path of the eye 210. Since the transparent emissive display 1010 is transparent, objects 510 in the environment in front of the user may be viewed through the transparent emissive display.

[0261] The eyepiece and transparent emissive display 1010 may have a proximal side and a distal side. The proximal side is closer to the eye than the distal side. The distal side is closer to the object than the proximal side.

[0262] The proximal variable focus optical element 1040 may be disposed in the optical path between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the user's eye 210. More specifically, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 may be disposed between the proximal lens array 1020 and the user's eye 210 (see, for example, Fig. 10B ). The proximal variable focus optical element 1040 may include an optical element having a variable or switchable optical power. The optical power of the proximal variable focus optical element may be switched from a first optical power to a second optical power, and potentially to a third optical power (or more). The proximal variable focus optical element may include an electrical input configured to control the optical power provided by the variable focus optical element. In some embodiments, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 includes a switchable liquid crystal lens assembly. In some embodiments, a diffraction pattern may be rendered / displayed on a variable liquid crystal (LC) lens assembly so that the LC lens assembly imparts optical power to light that interacts with (e.g., propagates through) it.

[0263] The proximal variable focus optical element 1040 may be configured to provide appropriate optical power so that the image formed by the light from the transparent emissive display in the user's eye appears to originate from different depths. For example, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 may be configured to vary the divergence of the light projected from the transparent emissive display 1010 to the viewer. In one state, for example, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 may be configured to collimate the light emitted from the transparent emissive display as if it were propagating from an object at a great distance from the user (e.g., optical infinity). In another state, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 may be configured to cause the light emitted from the transparent emissive display to diverge as if it were propagating from an object at a relatively close distance from the user. Similarly, another lens assembly may be configured so that in one state, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 may be configured to cause the light emitted from the transparent emissive display to diverge as if it were propagating from an object at a close distance from the user. When in another state, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 can be configured to cause light emitted from the transparent emissive display to be more diffuse, as if spreading from an object at a closer distance to the object. Other configurations are also possible.

[0264] The distal variable focus optical element 1050 may be disposed in an optical path between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the environment 510. More specifically, the distal variable focus optical element 1050 may be disposed between the distal lens array 1030 and the environment 510. In various designs, the distal variable focus optical element 1050 includes a liquid crystal lens assembly. The distal variable focus optical element 1050 may be substantially similar to the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 described above. The distal variable focus optical element 1050 may be configured to vary the optical power, thereby changing the convergence and / or divergence of light from the environment 510, so as to offset the effects of the proximal variable focus optical element 1040. As a result, objects in the environment may not appear to be imaged as if through an optical element having the optical power of the proximal variable focus optical element 1050. For example, a user may not need optical correction, and viewing his or her environment through a lens having the optical power may make the user uncomfortable and / or may not be suitable for the user.

[0265] The use of variable focus lens elements is disclosed in U.S. patent application serial number 15 / 481,255 (attorney number MLEAP.059A), filed on April 6, 2017, and published as U.S. serial number 2017 / 0293145 on October 12, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, and are also discussed below, for example, in the section entitled "Lenses, Variable Focus Lens Elements, and Other Configurations for Providing Optical Power."

[0266] The proximal variable focus optical element 1040 and / or the distal variable focus optical element 1050 may include a variety of optical elements with adjustable optical focal lengths. The variable focus optical elements 1040, 1050 may, for example, include different types of liquid crystal lenses, such as adjustable or switchable liquid crystal lenses, wave plate lenses, and switchable delay devices. In various embodiments, these may include diffractive lenses. Examples of adjustable or switchable liquid crystal lenses include liquid crystals disposed between two electrode substrates, wherein applying an electrical signal to the electrodes can change the refractive index of the liquid crystal. In some embodiments, the variable focus optical element may include a diffractive wave plate lens. In some embodiments, one or more diffractive wave plate lenses may be included in, such as a stack, with one or more switchable wave plates. For example, the variable focus lens may include a diffractive wave plate lens alternately stacked with a switchable half-wave plate. Examples of switchable lenses, including liquid crystal-based lenses and other lens technologies, are discussed in the section below, for example, entitled “Lenses, Variable Focus Lens Elements, and Other Configurations for Providing Optical Power,” as well as in U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 518,539 filed on June 12, 2017 (attorney number MLEAP.119PR) and in U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 006,080 filed on June 12, 2018 (attorney number MLEAP.119A), published in ______________ as U.S. published serial number ______________, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0267] Fig. 10BAnother system 1000-B is shown, which includes a transparent emissive display 1010, a proximal variable focus optical element 1040, and a distal variable focus optical element 1050. These elements can be substantially similar to (or different from) the above referenced Fig. 10A However, in addition, system 1000-B further includes a proximal lens array 1020 and a distal lens array 1030 disposed in the optical path between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the environment 510 in front of the user. Fig. 10B In the example shown, the transparent emissive display is surrounded on opposite sides by proximal and distal lens arrays 1020, 1030 and proximal and distal variable focus optical elements 1040, 1050. Thus, the proximal lens array 1020 may be disposed in the optical path between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the user's eye 210.

[0268] The proximal lens array 1020 may include a plurality of lenses or lenslets, such as microlenses. In some cases, the proximal lens array 1020 may include a plurality of lenses with positive optical power. These lenses may be convex lenses, such as plano-convex lenses or biconvex lenses. An array of fewer and larger lenses may be used, for example, to increase or maximize the resolution of virtual content. Similarly, an array with many smaller lenses may be used, for example, to produce a denser light field (with more beamlets), and thus increase the possibility that each angular component represented in the light field reaches the appropriate area of ​​the user's retina. For some designs, the number of lenses or lenslets in the proximal lens array 1020 may correspond to the number of emitters in the transparent emissive display 1010. In some embodiments, a plurality of lenses or lenslets are associated with a plurality of corresponding emitters. In some designs, the proximal lens array 1020 is positioned at a distance away from the transparent emissive display 1010 so that light from one pixel does not cross the path of light from other pixels before being incident on the lenslet array or lens. For this reason, the distance between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the proximal lens array 1020 can be selected based on the divergence characteristics of the pixels of the transparent emissive display 1010. In some designs, the proximal lens array 1020 is disposed at a focal length from the transparent emissive display 1010. Thus, in some designs, the proximal lens array 1020 is configured to collimate light emitted from emitters in the transparent emissive display 1010. In some embodiments, the proximal lens array 1020 can be stacked directly on top of a plurality of emitters to reduce or minimize the distance between the pixels of the transparent emissive display 1010 and the lenses of the proximal lens array 1020, and thus also reduce or minimize the degree of divergence of the light emitted by the pixels before being affected by the optical power of the lenses in the proximal lens array 1020. In some of these embodiments, the proximal lens array 1020 can effectively serve as the outermost substrate layer of the transparent emissive display 1010, for example.

[0269] The distal lens array 1030 may be disposed in the optical path of the user's eye 210 between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the environment 510. The distal lens array 1030 may include a plurality of lenses or lenslets having negative optical power. The distal lens array 1030 may include concave lenses, such as plano-concave lenses or bi-concave lenses (although Fig. 10Bconvex lens is shown). For example, an array of fewer, larger lenses may be employed, for example, to increase or maximize the resolution of virtual content. Similarly, an array with many smaller lenses may be employed, for example, to produce a denser light field (with more beamlets) and thereby increase the likelihood that each angular component represented in the light field reaches the appropriate area of ​​the user's retina. In some embodiments, the number of lenses or lenslets in the distal lens array 1030 corresponds to or is equal to the number of lenses or lenslets in the proximal lens array 1020. The number of lenslets in the distal lens array 1030 may also correspond to the number of emitters in the transparent emissive display 1010. The optical power of the distal lens array 1030 may have an optical power that offsets the optical power of the proximal lens array 1020, thereby reducing the effect of the proximal lens array on the view of objects in the environment in front of the user. In some embodiments, the distal lens array 1030 is not included, such as Fig. 10C As shown, the proximal lens array 1020 remains between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the eye 210.

[0270] Although the various drawings herein (e.g. FIG. 10A to FIG. 10G and Figures 11 to 16 ) shows a single eyepiece for a single eye of a user, but an eyepiece, a transparent emissive display, and any other components, such as a proximal variable focus optical element or a distal variable focus optical element, or a proximal lens array or a distal lens array, may also be provided for each eye of the user.

[0271] The system 1000-B shown can be operated to inject light into the user's eyes to present image content to the user. Since the eyepiece and the transparent emissive display 1010 are transparent, the user can also see objects in the environment in front of the user. Therefore, the system 1000 can be used to display augmented reality image content to the user. Specifically, multiple emitters in the transparent emissive display 1010 can emit light that produces an image in the user's eye 210. After the light is emitted from the transparent emissive display 1010, the light propagates through the proximal lens array 1020, which in some designs may reduce the divergence of the light. The emitter can, for example, emit a divergent light beam. The proximal lens array 1020 can make the light beam less divergent and can collimate the light in some cases. The light can then enter the proximal variable focus optical element 1040, which changes the divergence of the light so that the image content is like being emitted from different distances in front of the eyepiece, depending on the state of the variable focus optical element and the optical focal length it causes.

[0272] The transparent nature of the transparent emissive display 1010 allows the user to observe the external environment while observing the emitted light from the transparent emissive display 1010. However, as described above, in various embodiments, the proximal lens array 1020 is located in the optical path of the user between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the user's eye 210, and can have sufficient optical power, such as to collimate the light emitted by the transparent emissive display 1010. Therefore, as shown, the proximal lens array 1020 can also be located in the path of light propagating from the surrounding environment 510 to the user's eye 210. Therefore, the proximal lens array 1020 can modify the wavefront of the light from the surrounding environment 510, thereby adversely affecting the view of the world seen by the user. To counteract this effect, the distal lens array 1030 can be positioned between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the environment 510 to adjust the wavefront of the light from the real-world objects. In this way, the distal lens array 1030 can be configured to compensate for the optical power introduced by the proximal lens array 1020 and the resulting effect of the optical power on the image of the object in the environment formed in the user's eye.

[0273] The proximal variable focus optical element 1040 can appropriately provide adjustment of the wavefront of the light output by the transparent emissive display 1010 to allow the light to form an image in the user's eye that appears to be from an appropriate distance from the user. As described above, the transparent emissive display 1010 can output collimated light in combination with the proximal lens array 1020. In this case, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 can be configured to modify the wavefront of the emitted light and provide an appropriate amount of divergence so that the eye focuses the image of the projected image content on the retina through adjustment. The brain can perceive this amount of adjustment and associate it with a specific distance from the user. Therefore, the brain associates the image content with a specific distance from the user. In this way, selecting an appropriate divergence can associate the image content with a specific distance. To this end, the variable focus elements 1040, 1050 can also be similar to some of the lenses described above. For example, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 can be considered to play the role of one or more of the lenses 320, 330, 340, 350 (as described above with reference to Figure 6 The distal variable focus optical element can be considered to play a role similar to that of the compensating lens layer 620 (also referred to above). Figure 6 A similar effect has been described.

[0274] However, as described above and discussed above, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 is also located in the path of light propagating from the surrounding environment 510 to the viewer's eye 210. Therefore, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 can modify the wavefront of light from the surrounding environment 510, thereby causing the user's view of the world to be adversely affected. To correct for this effect, the distal variable focus optical element 1050 can be placed on the opposite side of the transparent emissive display 1010 from the proximal variable focus optical element 1040; that is, the distal variable focus optical element 1050 can be located between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the surrounding real world to adjust the wavefront of light from real-world objects in the surrounding environment 510. The distal variable focus optical element 1050 can be configured to compensate for the optical power introduced by the proximal variable focus optical element 1040. In some embodiments, the optical power of the distal variable focus optical element 1050 can be opposite or opposite to the optical power of the proximal variable focus optical element 1040. For example, if the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 has a positive optical power, the distal variable focus optical element 1050 may have a negative optical power, and the positive and negative optical powers may be of similar magnitude. In some designs, the distal variable focus optical element 1050 may also be configured to compensate for aberrations caused by the transparent emissive display 1010 and / or the lens array. For example, to compensate for the optical power of the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 and the possible optical power of the intervening transparent emissive display 1010, the optical power of the distal variable focus optical element 1050 may be opposite to and of similar magnitude to the total optical power of the proximal variable focus optical element 1040 and the transparent emissive display 1010.

[0275] like Fig. 10D As shown, system 1000-B may include a first mode of operation in which an array of output beamlets 1060 is generated by illuminating the same pattern of pixels behind each lenslet or lens of the proximal lens array 1020. Thus, the angle of light output from multiple lenses in the array is the same, and an entire grid or array 1060 of beamlets of similar angles can be generated for each angular component. This approach is similar to that of the method described by Figure 7 and 9A to 9D Wavefront produced by a waveguide-based eyepiece shown. Such a configuration enables increased eye positioning tolerance without loss of image content.

[0276] In addition, if Fig.10EAs shown, system 1000-B can include a second or alternative mode of operation in which different pixel patterns are illuminated behind each lenslet. Therefore, the angles of light output from multiple lenses in the array are not the same. Instead, the angular component varies across the entire lenslet array. However, the system is configured so that different lenses provide different perspectives of the presented image content. A given point in 3D space can be represented using an angular component that varies across the proximal lens array 1020. The system can be considered to produce a "4D" light field.

[0277] refer to Fig.10F In some designs, the eyepiece includes a system 1000-F that includes an inner (or proximal) diffractive waveplate lens or lenslet array 1012 and an outer (or distal) diffractive waveplate lens or lenslet array 1014. Similar to the examples discussed above, Fig.10F An eyepiece is shown that includes a transparent emissive display 1010, a proximal variable focus optical element 1040, and a distal variable focus optical element 1050. However, in Fig.10F10B , the eyepiece has an internal diffractive waveplate lens array 1012 and an external diffractive waveplate lens array 1014, instead of the proximal lens array 1020 and distal lens array 1030 shown in FIG. 10B . Some examples of diffractive waveplate lens arrays include liquid crystals. The diffractive waveplate lens or lens array can provide optical power to diverge or converge polarized light. In some cases, the diffractive waveplate lens or lens array converges one polarization of light and diverges another polarization of light because the diffractive waveplate lens has different (e.g., opposite) optical powers for different polarizations. The diffractive waveplate lens or lenslet can also transform (e.g., rotate) the polarization of light incident thereon. Diffractive waveplate lenses are discussed below, for example, in the section entitled “Lenses, Variable Focus Lens Elements, and Other Configurations for Providing Optical Power,” as well as in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 518,539 filed Jun. 12, 2017 (attorney no. MLEAP.119PR) and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 006,080 filed Jun. 12, 2018 (attorney no. MLEAP.119A), published in ____________ as U.S. published serial number ______________, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The internal lens 1016 can be located in the optical path of a user between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the proximal variable focus optical element 1040. The internal lens 1016 can be configured to modify the divergence of light emitted from the transparent emissive display 1010. For example, the internal lens 1016 may have a focal length f and may be disposed at this focal length f from the transparent emissive display 1010 so that light emitted from an emitter in the transparent emissive display is collimated.

[0278] An external (or distal) wave plate lens or lenslet array 1014 can be located in the optical path of the user between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the distal variable focus optical element 1050. The external wave plate lens array 1014 can be substantially similar to the internal wave plate lens array 1012. For example, the internal wave plate lens array 1012 can have a positive optical power that will modify the wavefront of light from the surrounding environment 510, thereby adversely affecting the user's view of the world. To reduce this effect, the external wave plate lens array 1014 can be positioned between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the environment 510. In some embodiments, for example, the external wave plate lens array 1014 has an optical power equal to and opposite to that of the internal wave plate lens array 1014. For example, if the internal wave plate has a focal length f and is disposed at a distance f from the transparent emissive display 10 as described above, the external wave plate lens array can also have a focal length f. In some cases, the external wave plate lens array can also be disposed at a focal length from the transparent emissive display. Thus, the external wave plate lens array and the internal wave plate lens array can form an afocal system. Therefore, as used herein, in some cases, the external wave plate lens array can be referred to as an afocal lens array. Similarly, the internal wave plate lens array can be referred to as an afocal lens array.

[0279] refer to Figure 10G For some designs, the eyepiece includes a system 1000-G that includes an inner (or proximal) lens 1016 and an outer (or distal) lens 1018, rather than a lens such as Fig. 10B The proximal lens array 1020 and the distal lens array 1030 are shown. The system 1000-G includes a substantially similar (or different) system to the above reference system. Fig. 10A The transparent emissive display 1010, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040, and the distal variable focus optical element 1050 are described. However, a larger (e.g., single) lens may be used on the proximal and distal sides of the transparent emissive display instead of a lenslet array including, for example, microlenses. As shown, an internal (or proximal) lens 1016 may be located in the optical path of a user between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the proximal variable focus optical element 1040. The internal lens 1016 may be configured to modify the divergence of light emitted from the transparent emissive display 1010.

[0280] The external (or distal) lens 1018 can be located in the user's optical path between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the distal variable focus optical element 1050. The external lens 1018 can be substantially similar to the internal lens 1016. The internal lens 1016 can modify the wavefront of light from the surrounding environment 510, thereby affecting the user's view of the world. To compensate for this effect, the external lens 1018 can be positioned between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the environment. In various examples, the internal lens 1016 will be positive and the external lens 1018 will be negative. Thus, the external lens 1018 can be a concave lens (although in Figure 10G convex lens in FIG. 1 ). In various embodiments, the inner lens 1016 may include a single lens. Similarly, in various embodiments, the outer lens 1018 may include a single lens. In some embodiments, the inner lens 1016 and / or the outer lens 1018 may be disposed at a focal length from the transparent emissive display and may form an afocal lens system such as described above. Thus, as used herein, in some cases, the outer lens may be referred to as an afocal lens. Similarly, the inner lens may be referred to as an afocal lens.

[0281] Although as above relative to Fig. 10C As discussed, lenses, such as single lenses (eg, single refractive lenses), are shown on each side of the transparent emissive display, but in some designs no external lenses may be included. Other types of lenses may also be employed.

[0282] Thus, the lenses closest to the transparent emissive display, such as the proximal (or internal) lens, lens(es) or lenslet array and the distal (or external) lens, lens(es) or lenslet array, may each or all include a refractive lens, a diffractive lens, a wave plate lens, a metamaterial lens, a liquid crystal lens (e.g., a cholesteric liquid crystal lens), etc. For example, these lenses may include a diffractive / metamaterial lens, a diffractive lens or lenslet array, a diffractive wave plate lens, a diffractive wave plate lens or lenslet array, a diffractive liquid crystal lens, a diffractive liquid crystal lens or lenslet array, a diffractive liquid crystal wave plate lens, a diffractive liquid crystal wave plate lens or lenslet array, a reflective liquid crystal lens, a reflective wave plate lens, a reflective liquid crystal wave plate lens, a reflective lens or lenslet array, a reflective liquid crystal lens or lenslet array, a reflective wave plate lens or lenslet array, a reflective liquid crystal wave plate lens or lenslet array, a cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lens or lenslet array, a cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lens, etc. In some cases, these lenses may be wavelength selective and may selectively operate (eg, reduce divergence, collimate, etc.) at wavelengths that match or correspond to the wavelengths of the emitters in the transparent emissive display.

[0283] Fig. 10H Shows such as FIG. 10A to FIG. 10GA cross-sectional view of an example portion of a transparent emissive display is shown. Fig. 10H In some embodiments, the transparent emissive display includes electrodes such as an anode and a cathode on either side of the emitter. In some examples, one or both of these electrodes may each include one or more layers of indium tin oxide ("ITO") or other transparent conductive materials. These electrodes provide electrical connections to the transparent emissive display 1010, and in particular to the emitter. In some designs, the emitter may be further surrounded by a hole transport layer and an electron transport layer on either side. The transparent emissive display 1010 may further include a glass substrate, for example for structural support. The glass substrate may be replaced with other elements, such as optical elements that can provide structural support, such as lenses or lenslet arrays (e.g., physical microlens arrays, diffraction wave plate lenslet arrays, cholesteric liquid crystal reflective wave plate lens arrays or lenses, etc.). In some embodiments, Fig. 10H The transparent emissive display 1010 may further include one or more reflective or partially reflective optical elements layered adjacent to the outer surface of the cathode. In some embodiments, the cathode itself may be reflective or partially reflective.

[0284] Fig.11 Another system 1100 is shown, which includes a transparent emissive display 1010, a proximal lens array 1020, a distal lens array 1030, a proximal variable focus optical element 1040, and a distal variable focus optical element 1050. These elements can be substantially similar to those described above with reference to FIG. 10. In addition, however, the system 1100 further includes a distal shutter 1110, which is disposed in an optical path between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the environment 510 in front of the user. More specifically, the distal shutter 1110 can be located between the distal variable focus optical element 1050 and the environment 510. In some embodiments, the distal shutter 1110 includes a spatial light modulator having a plurality of pixels. For example, the distal shutter 1110 can include a liquid crystal spatial light modulator. The distal shutter 1110 can have an electrical input terminal, which is configured to receive an electrical signal to selectively change the transmission state of the pixel. In some configurations, the system 1110 further includes an electronic device electrically coupled to the electrical input of the spatial light modulator so that one or more pixels on the spatial light modulator are transmissive and other pixels are opaque, thereby selectively blocking a portion of the view of the environment in front of the user. Thus, the electronic device is able to modify the view of the environment seen by the user, such as controlling which objects in the environment are visible to the user. In addition, a transparent emissive display can be used to present image content to the user.

[0285] In some embodiments, the system 1110 further includes a proximal lens 1120 and a distal lens 1130. The distal lens 1130 may be configured to focus light from the environment onto the pixels of the distal shutter 1110. The distal lens 1130 may have a focal length, and the distal shutter 1110 may be positioned at a distance from the distal lens 1130 corresponding to the focal length, i.e., the distal shutter 1110 may be positioned at or along the focal plane of the lens 1130. In this way, the system may selectively block specific angular components of incident light from the environment. The purpose of the proximal lens 1120 is to form an afocal lens pair with the distal lens 1130. The optical power of the proximal lens 1120 can be the same as the optical power of the distal lens 1130, and the distal shutter 1110 and the distal lens 1130 can be separated from each other by the focal length of the distal lens (so that the distal shutter is also positioned at or along the focal plane of the lens 1130). In some embodiments, the distal shutter 1110 and the proximal lens 1120 can be separated by the focal length of the proximal lens (so that the distal shutter is also positioned at or along the focal plane of the lens 1120). In this way, the system (e.g., the distal shutter 1110) can simply strip off a specific angular component of light from the environment before the light reaches the system 1000 (without otherwise modifying the light from the environment). The proximal lens 1120 can be positioned in the optical path between the distal shutter 1110 and the distal variable focus optical element 1050. The distal lens 1130 can be positioned between the distal shutter 1110 and the environment 510. These lenses can have positive optical power. As shown, these lenses can be convex lenses, such as biconvex lenses, or can be plano-convex lenses. Other types of lenses can be used. Other combinations of lenses (different types, optical powers, lens spacing) can be used. In various embodiments, the lenses are selected to form an afocal system. In some embodiments, for the purpose of saving space, it is necessary to fold the afocal system or reconfigure the system in other ways. For example, one or more mirrors or reflectors can be used to redirect incident light from and / or toward the optical element along a folded optical path.

[0286] Other configurations are also possible. For example, Figure 12 shows a system 1200 that includes a plurality of shutters 1210, 1220 for selecting light at appropriate angles to form a desired image in the user's eye. Similar to the systems discussed above, the system 1200 shown in Figure 12 includes a transparent emissive display 1010, a proximal variable focus optical element 1040, and a distal variable focus optical element 1050. The transparent emissive display 1010, the proximal variable focus optical element 1040, and the distal variable focus optical element 1050 can be substantially similar to (or different from) those described above with reference to Figure 10. As described above, the system 1200 further includes a pair of shutters, such as a first shutter 1210 and a second shutter 1220. The structure of the shutter can be substantially similar to that described above with reference to Figure 10. Fig.11The described distal shutter 1110. For example, the shutter 1110 may include a spatial light modulator having a plurality of pixel elements that can be selectively changed to transmit light or reduce the transmission of light (e.g., block the transmission of light). The spatial light modulator may include, for example, a liquid crystal spatial light modulator. The spatial light modulator may be configured to vary the intensity of light transmitted through different pixel elements. The spatial light modulator may include an electrical input to control the state of each pixel element and the intensity level of light transmitted through each pixel element. Therefore, by using an electronic device electrically coupled to the electrical input on the first spatial light modulator 1210, 1220, one or more pixel elements on the first spatial light modulator 1210 can be transmissive while the surrounding pixels are opaque pixel elements, and one or more pixel elements on the second spatial light modulator 1220 can be transmissive while the surrounding pixels on the second spatial light modulator 1220 are opaque. One or more transparent pixel elements (surrounded by opaque pixel elements) on the first spatial light modulator 1210, and one or more transparent pixel elements (surrounded by opaque pixel elements) on the spatial light modulator 1220 can be aligned along a linear optical path that is configured to receive light from one or more pixels or emitters configured to emit light on the transparent emissive display. Since these pixel elements on the first spatial light modulator 1210 and the second spatial light modulator 1220 are aligned with each other and aligned with the light emitted from the emissive pixels in the transparent emissive display, light emitted from the transparent emissive display 1010 at a certain angle direction is simultaneously transmitted through the aligned transmissive pixels of the first spatial light modulator 1210 and the second spatial light modulator 1220. These specific angles can be mapped to specific locations in the eye, such as certain locations on the retina, and can therefore correspond to certain locations on an image formed in the eye (e.g., on the retina). Thus, by coordinating the color and intensity of light from selected pixels / emitters in the transparent emissive display with one or more pixel elements on the first and second spatial light modulators 1210, 1220 that are transparent and properly aligned to collect light from specific angles of the transparent emissive display, the color and brightness of specific portions of the image can be established in the image formed in the eye. Electronics in communication with the transparent emissive display and the first and second shutters 1210, 1220 can be configured to cycle through different pixels / emitters in the transparent emissive display and appropriately selected pixel elements on the first and second shutters to selectively propagate light from one or more emissive pixels at specific angles that correspond to specific locations on the image formed in the eye.Likewise, the color and intensity of light emitted from different pixels on the transparent emissive display can be varied to produce corresponding color and intensity variations at various conjugate image locations on the image formed in the eye. Thus, a desired image can be presented in the eye. Thus, the electronics can be configured to appropriately coordinate the emission of selected pixels / emitters on the transparent emissive display with the transmission of light through appropriate pixel elements on the first shutter 1210 and the second shutter 1220 in an appropriate time sequence to produce a desired image.

[0287] In addition to blocking light from the emitters on the transparent emissive display, the opaque pixel elements in the shutter can also block light from the environment 510. Therefore, in some embodiments, the pixels of the shutter can operate at a high enough frequency to make the light from the environment 510 visible to the user, and the shutter can also selectively transmit the light from the transparent emissive display 1010 at the appropriate time. The appropriate angle of light to form an image in the user's eyes. The frequency may be higher than the frequency that the human eye can detect. The frequency can be 60Hz or higher, for example. The frequency of the transmissive state of the pixel (and the frequency at which the emitters in the transparent emissive display emit light) can be high enough to make objects in the environment visible and give the user the impression that the image is in the environment and surrounded by these objects in the environment. Therefore, in some embodiments, the operating frequency of the shutter and the transparent emissive display can be selected to provide a desired level of visibility of the environment and the image content superimposed thereon. Similarly, the transparent emissive display 1010 is coordinated with the paired shutters 1210, 1220 so that the transparent emissive display emits from the appropriate one or more pixels / one or more emitters while the appropriate pixel elements in the shutter are in a transparent state. However, at other times, the emitters in the emissive display may be set to emit reduced or no visible light, while the pixel elements in the shutter may be set to a transparent state so that the user can see the environment.

[0288] In some configurations, a single shutter can be used instead of a pair of shutters. In this approach (or some other time-division multiplexing-based approach), the shutter can be positioned relatively close to the transparent emissive display. To the extent that multiple pixel regions are to be illuminated simultaneously, these pixel regions can be substantially separated from each other (e.g., pixel regions positioned at least at a predetermined Euclidean distance from each other). In some embodiments, the shutter has a relatively high resolution.

[0289] Fig. 12BAn example of light emitted from a pixel in a transparent emissive display 1010 and selectively transmitted through a transparent pixel in a shutter is shown. The first emitter 1230 and the second emitter 1250 emit light, for example, in the direction of the user's eye 210, but are incident on the shutters 1220 and 1210. In this example, the first shutter 1220 and the second shutter 1230 each include opaque pixels and transparent pixels. As shown, at least a portion of the emission from the first emitter 1230 and the second emitter 1250 is blocked by the opaque pixels in the first shutter 1220 and the second shutter 1210. However, some of the light is transmitted through the transparent pixels. In this way, light with appropriate angles is selectively allowed to propagate through the paired shutters 1220 and 1210 and reach the proximal variable focus optical element 1040, while light at other angles is blocked. As described above, these angles can correspond to light from a specific portion of the object and also correspond to similar positions on the conjugate image on the retina.

[0290] Can be used with Fig.11 Additional shutters 1110 similar to those shown are added to Fig.13 in the system shown. Fig.13 A system 1300 similar to the system shown in FIG. 12 is shown, which includes a transparent emissive display 1010, a proximal variable focus optical element 1040, a distal variable focus optical element 1050, a first shutter 1210, and a second shutter 1220. These elements may be substantially similar to (or different from) those described above with reference to FIG. 12. However, the system 1300 may further include a distal shutter 1110 located on the distal side of the transparent emissive display 1010 (e.g., between the transparent emissive display and the environment in front of the user). The distal shutter 1110 may include a spatial light modulator having a plurality of pixel elements that may be selectively set to a transparent or transmissive optical state, or alternatively set to an opaque non-transmissive or non-transparent state. In some embodiments, where shutters 1210 and 1220 of system 1300 operate at a particular frequency (e.g., 60 Hz or higher), e.g., faster than the human eye can discern, shutter 1110 of system 1300 can be operated using a DC or non-PWM control signal so that shutter 1100 can remain in a relatively stable state (e.g., not flickering). Thus, certain pixel elements can be selected to be transparent, while other pixel elements can be set to be opaque, so as to allow certain portions of an environment to be visible while views of one or more other portions of the environment are blocked. Thus, in some embodiments, remote shutter 1110 can be substantially similar to Fig.11 In some embodiments, the remote shutter 1110 can include a liquid crystal spatial light modulator.

[0291] In some configurations such as shown, the system can further include a distal lens 1130 and a proximal lens 1120 located on opposite sides of the distal shutter 1110. The distal lens 1130 and the proximal lens 1120 can be substantially similar to those described above. These lenses 1130, 1120 can have positive optical power. In some embodiments, these lenses 1130, 1120 can be convex lenses, such as biconvex lenses. The distal 1130 and proximal lenses 1120 can include other types of lenses as described above.

[0292] Fig.14 Another augmented reality display system 1400 is shown, which includes a rearward transparent emissive display 1010 and a reflective wave plate lens or lenslet array 1410. The rearward transparent emissive display can be substantially similar to the above reference Fig. 10A The transparent emissive display 1010 is described, except that the rear-facing transparent emissive display is oriented so that light is emitted toward the environment rather than toward the user. A reflective wave plate lenslet array 1410 can be disposed in the optical path between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the environment 510 in front of the user so that light emitted by the transparent emissive display is reflected from the reflective wave plate lenslet array 1410 back into the transparent emissive display. Some or substantially all of this light is transmitted through the transparent emissive display 1010 toward the eye 210.

[0293] As described above, some examples of diffractive waveplate lenses or lens arrays include liquid crystals. A diffractive waveplate lens or lens array can provide optical power to diverge or converge polarized light. In some cases, a diffractive waveplate lens or lens array converges light of one polarization and diverges light of another polarization because the diffractive waveplate lens has different (e.g., opposite) optical powers for different polarizations. A diffractive waveplate lens or lenslet can also transform (e.g., rotate) the polarization of light incident thereon. Diffractive waveplate lenses are discussed below, for example, in the section entitled “Lenses, Variable Focus Lens Elements, and Other Configurations for Providing Optical Power” and in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 518,539 filed on June 12, 2017 (Attorney No. MLEAP.119PR) and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16 / 006,080 filed on June 12, 2018 (Attorney No. MLEAP.119A), published in ____________ as U.S. Published Serial No. ______________, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In some embodiments, the reflective waveplate lenslet array 1410 can include a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) reflective waveplate lenslet array. Alternatively, a CLC reflective waveplate lens can be used. Reflective liquid crystal lenses are discussed below, for example, in the section entitled “Lenses, Variable Focus Lens Elements, and Other Configurations for Providing Optical Power,” and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 902,927 (Agent No. MLEAP.27A2), filed on Feb. 22, 2018, published as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2018 / 0239177 on Aug. 23, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0294] Thus, the reflective wave plate lens or lenslet array 1410 may have an optical power, such as a positive optical power, to reduce the divergence of light emitted by an emitter in a transparent emissive display. In some designs, for example, the reflective wave plate lenslet array 1410 may have a focal length, and the emitters of the transparent emissive display may be disposed at a distance from the reflective wave plate lenslet array corresponding to the focal length so that light emitted by the emitters is collimated by the reflective wave plate lenslet array.

[0295] As described above, because the waveplate lens has different (e.g., opposite) optical powers for different polarizations, the waveplate lens or lens array converges light of one polarization and diverges light of another polarization. The waveplate lens or lenslet can also transform (e.g., rotate) the polarization of light incident on it. Therefore, a retarder can be included in the system to control polarization. Fig.14 In the system shown, for example, an optional quarter wave plate 1420 or quarter wave retarder is disposed between the transparent emissive display 1010 and the reflective wave plate lenslet array 1410. (As used herein, a wave plate includes a retarder and need not be a plate such as a rigid plate, but may be thin and / or flexible, and may include one or more films or layers, for example.)

[0296] like Fig.15 As shown, the light emitted from the transparent emissive display will propagate through the optional quarter wave plate 1420 twice, thereby increasing the delay of a quarter wavelength at each pass, or increasing the delay of a full wavelength in total when passing twice. In this system, for example, linearly polarized light (e.g., horizontally polarized light) emitted from the emitter in the transparent emissive display 1010 is transformed into circularly polarized light when propagating through the optional quarter wave plate 1420. The light is incident on the reflective wave plate lenslet array 1410, which exhibits positive optical power to the circularly polarized light of this orientation. The reflective wave plate lenslet array 1410 transforms the reflected light into circularly polarized light of the opposite orientation. The circularly polarized light propagates through the optional quarter wave plate 1420 again and is transformed back into linearly polarized light (e.g., vertically polarized light). The full wavelength of delay introduced by the two propagations through the optional quarter wave plate 1420 causes the rotation of the linear polarization. The light or most of it is transmitted through the transparent emissive display toward the user's eyes.

[0297] Fig.16 Shows something like Fig.15 The augmented reality display system 1400 shown further includes a proximal variable focus optical element 1040 and a distal variable focus optical element 1050 disposed in the optical path of a user on either side of the system 1400. The proximal variable focus optical element 1040 and the distal variable focus optical element 1050 sandwich the reflective wave plate lenslet array 1410, the optional quarter wave plate 1420, and the transparent emissive display 1010. The proximal variable focus optical element 1040 and the distal variable focus optical element 1050 can be substantially similar to those described above.

[0298] Lenses, variable focus lens elements and other arrangements for providing optical power

[0299] In some embodiments, the variable focus lens element may be an adaptive optical element. The adaptive optical element may be dynamically changed, for example, by applying an electrical signal thereto, to change the shape of the wavefront incident thereon. In some embodiments, the adaptive optical element may include a transmissive optical element, such as a dynamic lens (e.g., a liquid crystal lens, an electro-active lens, a traditional refractive lens with a moving element, a lens based on mechanical deformation, an electro-wetting lens, an elastic lens, or a plurality of fluids with different refractive indices). As described herein, by changing the shape, refractive index, or other properties of the adaptive optical element, the wavefront incident on the adaptive element may be changed, for example, to change the focus of the viewer's eye on the light.

[0300] In some embodiments, a variable focus lens element may include a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between two substrates. The substrates may include a light-transmitting material such as glass, plastic, acrylic, etc. In some embodiments, the substrates may be flat. In some embodiments, the substrates may have curved regions so that portions of the substrates may have a fixed optical power.

[0301] In some embodiments, the optical power of a variable focus lens element can be varied by adjusting an electrical signal (e.g., current and / or voltage) applied to the liquid crystal layer via, for example, one or more thin film transistors (TFTs) and / or electrodes integrated with the liquid crystal layer and / or substrate. In some embodiments, the orientation of the liquid crystal material in the liquid crystal layer determines the refractive index of the layer. In various embodiments, the applied electrical signal sets the orientation of the liquid crystal material, thereby allowing the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer to be varied as desired by changing the applied electrical signal.

[0302] refer to Fig.17A and Fig. 17B , an example of a liquid crystal based wave plate lens is described.

[0303] Fig.17A and Fig. 17B Examples of wave plate lenses 1700A and 1700B are shown, respectively, each of which includes a transparent substrate 1704, such as a glass substrate, on which liquid crystal molecules 1708 are formed, and the liquid crystal molecules 1708 extend along different extension directions relative to a direction parallel to an axial direction (e.g., an x-direction or a y-direction) along a major surface of the substrate 1704. That is, the liquid crystal molecules 1708 are rotated around a direction perpendicular to the major surface of the substrate 1704 (e.g., a z-direction) by different rotation angles (φ), where φ is described as an angle between the extension direction of the liquid crystal molecules relative to a direction parallel to a layer normal (e.g., an x-direction or a y-direction).

[0304] In the illustrated embodiment, the liquid crystal molecules 1708 at a given radius from the central axis C have the same rotation angle (φ). As arranged, the liquid crystal molecules 1708 are configured to focus the collimated light beam to a point at the focal length. Without being bound by any theory, the rotation angle (φ) of the liquid crystal molecules 1708 may be + / - k0r 2 / f,r 2 , where r is the radial distance from C, and k0 = 2π / λ is the wave number of the light focused by the diffractive wave plate lens, 1 is the wavelength of the light, and f is the focal length of the wave plate lens 1700A, 1700B. The + and - signs may correspond to the direction of rotation of the liquid crystal molecules 1208 relative to the liquid crystal molecules 1708 closest to the center C of the wave plate lens 1700A, 1700B.

[0305] The patterns of the liquid crystal molecules 1708 of the wave plate lenses 1700A and 1700B represent inverted images of each other. That is, one of the wave plate lenses 1700A and 1700B can be obtained by rotating the other of the wave plate lenses 1700A and 1700B by 180 degrees around an axial direction (e.g., the x direction or the y direction). According to the configuration, the focal length and optical power of the wave plate lenses 1700A and 1700B are the same in size but opposite in sign.

[0306] In some embodiments, each of the wave plate lenses 1700A and 1700B can be used as a half-wave plate lens. When configured as a half-wave plate lens, each of the wave plate lenses 1700A and 1700B rotates the plane of linear polarized light by an angle of 2α relative to the polarization of the input beam, where α is the angle between the input polarization direction and the wave plate axis. For a circularly polarized beam, this angle change translates into a phase shift and a reversal of polarization handedness. Thus, a ±2α phase shift can be generated in the circularly polarized beam, the sign of which depends on the polarization handedness.

[0307] Fig. 17C An example of a wave plate lens is shown that diverges or converges light propagating therethrough depending on the polarization of the light and the incident side of the light, according to some embodiments. When configured as a half-wave plate lens, the wave plate lens 1700A shown can be configured to diverge a right-handed circularly polarized (RHCP) light beam 1712 incident on a first side into a left-handed circularly polarized (LHCP) light beam 1716. On the other hand, the wave plate lens 1700A can be configured to converge a RHCP light beam 1720 incident on a second side opposite to the first side into a left-handed circularly polarized (LHCP) light beam 1724.

[0308] For wave plate lens 1700B, the situation is reversed. Fig.17DAs shown, when configured as a half-wave plate, the wave plate lens 1700B can be configured to converge the LHCP beam 1728 incident on the first side into the RHCP beam 1732. On the other hand, the wave plate lens 1700B can be configured to diverge the LHCP beam 1736 incident on the second side opposite to the first side into the RHCP beam 1740.

[0309] Thus, by controlling the rotation angle direction and radial distribution of the liquid crystal 1708, the wave plate lens can be configured to converge or diverge circularly polarized light with either handedness. Based on the relationship between the liquid crystal rotation angles, the optical power can be increased or decreased. Additionally, in some embodiments, the liquid crystals can be aligned and misaligned by applying an electric field. Thus, in the limit of zero optical power, the wave plate lens can be used as a wave plate, such as a switchable wave plate.

[0310] Fig.18A An example of an adaptive lens assembly including a wave plate lens and a switchable wave plate is shown in accordance with some embodiments. Fig.18B Shows the deactivation Fig.18A The switchable wave plate of the adaptive lens assembly 1800 is shown as operating as the switchable wave plate assembly 1800A, while Fig. 18C Shows the activation Fig.18A The switchable assembly 1800B of the adaptive lens assembly 1800 shown operates in the case of a switchable wave plate. The adaptive lens assembly 1800 is configured to couple and transmit light from the transparent emissive display 1010 discussed herein. The adaptive lens assembly 1800 includes a first wave plate lens (L1 / HWP1) 1804 (e.g., a first half-wave plate lens), a second wave plate lens (L2 / HWP2) 1808 (e.g., a second half-wave plate lens), and a switchable wave plate (HWP3) 1812 (e.g., a switchable half-wave plate).

[0311] In various embodiments, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 is configured to function as a lens and a half-wave plate. Fig.17A and Fig. 17B As described above, when configured as a half-wave plate, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 is configured to transform circularly polarized light having a first handedness (first HCP) into circularly polarized light having a second handedness (second HCP). That is, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 is configured to transform light propagating therethrough from light having LHCP or RHCP into light having RHCP or LHCP, respectively.

[0312] In various embodiments, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 is configured to function as a lens, having, for a given polarization, a first lens effect or a second lens effect that is opposite to the second lens effect. That is, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 is configured to converge or diverge light propagating therethrough. In various embodiments, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 may be configured to have opposite lens effects, depending on the polarization state of the incident light. For example, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 may be configured to focus light having a first HCP incident thereon, while being configured to defocus light having a second HCP incident thereon.

[0313] In some embodiments, L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 are configured to have the same lens effect for light having a given HCP. That is, L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 can both be configured to focus light having an LHCP, focus focused light having an RHCP, defocus light having an LHCP, or defocus light having an RHCP.

[0314] In some embodiments, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 may include liquid crystal molecules that are stretched and rotated so that the liquid crystals located at a given radius from the central axis of each wave plate lens 1804, 1808 have the same rotation angle (φ), as described above with reference to Fig.17A and 17B Each of the first wave plate lens 1804 and the second wave plate lens 1808 is configured to change the polarization state of light propagating therethrough, such as inverting the polarization state. The switchable wave plate 1812 is configured to change the polarization state of light propagating therethrough, such as inverting the polarization state, when electrically activated, and is configured to substantially propagate light without changing the polarization state of light propagating therethrough when deactivated. An electrical signal, such as a current signal or a voltage signal, for switching the switchable wave plate 1812 may be provided by a switch circuit 1816 electrically connected thereto.

[0315] In various embodiments, when activated, for example electrically activated using a voltage or current signal provided by the switch circuit 1816, the HWP3 1812B ( Fig. 18C ) is used as a half-wave plate. That is, when activated, HWP3 1812B ( Fig.18C) is used as a half-wave plate configured to transform light propagating therethrough from light having LHCP or RHCP to light having RHCP or LHCP, respectively. Thus, when activated, L1 / HWP1 1804, L2 / HWP2 1808, and HWP3 1812B ( Fig. 18C ) are each configured to convert circularly polarized light having a first handedness (first HCP) into circularly polarized light having a second handedness (second HCP).

[0316] In various embodiments, when disabled, such as by electrically deactivating a voltage or current signal provided by switch circuit 1816, such as by removing the voltage or current signal, HWP3 1812A ( Fig.18B ) is used as a light transmission medium without affecting polarization or providing any lensing effect.

[0317] In some embodiments, a single wave plate lens 1804 and / or 1808 can be used as both a wave plate lens and a switchable half-wave plate. In such an embodiment, a dedicated switchable half-wave plate 1812 can be omitted.

[0318] Fig.18B FIG. 1 shows an example of a switchable wave plate operating with the switchable wave plate disabled according to some embodiments. Fig.18A 1800A. When the switchable wave plate 1812 is deactivated, for example, when the switch circuit 1316 does not apply a current or voltage to the switchable wave plate 1812, the adaptive lens assembly 1800A can be deactivated. The adaptive lens assembly 1800A can correspond to a first adaptive lens assembly (located on the world side) or a second adaptive lens assembly (on the user side). Each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 can be configured to have a first lens effect (e.g., a diverging effect) on light having a first HCP, such as LHCP, propagating therethrough. Each of L1 / HWP1 1304 and L2 / HWP2 1308 can also be configured to have a second lens effect (e.g., a converging effect) opposite to the first lens effect on light having an opposite HCP, such as RHCP, propagating therethrough.

[0319] For example only, a light beam 1820 having a first HCP, such as LHCP, travels, for example, along the positive z-direction until the light beam 1820 impinges on and propagates through L1 / HWP 1804. L1 / HWP1 1804 transforms the light beam 1820 having the LHCP into a light beam 1824 having the RHCP. Since L1 / HWP1 1804 is also configured as a lens, L1 / HWP1 1804 also diverges the light beam 1820 according to the first optical power P1 of L1 / HWP1 1804.

[0320] The light beam 1824 with RHCP is then incident on HWP3 1812A which is in the deactivated state. Since HWP3 1812A is deactivated, the light beam 1824 with RHCP is projected through HWP3 1812A without being substantially affected by polarization or lens effects, and is incident on H2 / HWP2 1808 as a light beam 1828A with RHCP. When configured as an adaptive lens assembly on the user side, L2 / HWP2 1808 is configured similarly to L1 / HWP1 1804 in the illustrated embodiment, i.e., transforming polarization and diverging light with LHCP while converging light with RHCP. Therefore, the light beam 1828A with RHCP is transformed back into a light beam 1832 with LHCP. Therefore, when HWP3 1812A is deactivated, L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1804 transmit light beams having opposite polarizations, so that L1 / HWP1 1304 and L2 / HWP2 1808 have opposite lens effects on light propagating therethrough. That is, since light beam 1828A incident on L2 / HWP2 1804 has RHCP, light beam 1832A emerging from L2 / HWP2 1808 converges according to the second optical power P2, unlike light beam 1824 emerging from L1 / HWP1 1804, which diverges according to the first optical power P1. Thereafter, light beam 1832A can be viewed by the eye when emerging from adaptive lens assembly 1800A in the deactivated state.

[0321] In some embodiments, when HWP3 1812A is deactivated, the first optical power P1 (which may be negative, i.e., divergent) of L1 / HWP1 1804 and the second optical power P2 (which may be positive, i.e., convergent) of L2 / HWP2 1808 may have substantially the same or matching magnitudes. In these embodiments, since the lens effects of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 are compensated, the net optical power Pnet (which may be approximated as P1+P2) of the adaptive lens assembly 1800A may be substantially zero. However, embodiments are not limited thereto, and the first optical power P1 and the second optical power P2 may have different magnitudes so that the net optical power Pnet may have a non-zero value. For example, in some embodiments, the non-zero Pnet may be equal to the eyeglass prescription of the user, thereby allowing correction of focusing errors (e.g., refractive focusing errors) of the user's eyes.

[0322] It should be understood that although in the illustrated embodiment, the incident beam 1820 has an LHCP, similar results will be produced when the incident beam 1820 has an RHCP. That is, when the beam 1820 has an RHCP, the beams 1824 and 1828A have an LHCP, and unlike the illustrated embodiment, the beams 1824 and 1828A converge with respect to the beam 1820. Likewise, the L2 / HWP2 1808 diverges the beam 1828A converged by the L1 / HWP1 1804 so that the net optical power Pnet can be substantially zero.

[0323] The lens effect of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 and the reference above Fig.18B The polarization state selective lens effect of the incident light beam described is only an example, and other configurations are possible. Fig.18B In the embodiment, L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 are configured to diverge light having LHCP while converging light having RHCP, but in other embodiments, L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 may be configured to converge light having LHCP while diverging light having RHCP.

[0324] In summary, in some embodiments, when HWP3 1812A of adaptive lens assembly 1800A is in a deactivated state, outgoing light beam 1832A can have the same HCP as incident light beam 1820 and substantially match incident light beam 1820 in terms of lens effect, due to the compensation of lens effect between P1 of L1 / HWP1 1804 and P2 of L2 / HWP2 1808. Thus, for example, when the user is not viewing virtual content, the world view is relatively unaffected by the presence of the adaptive lens assembly.

[0325] Fig. 18C FIG. 1 shows an example of a switchable wave plate operating with the switchable wave plate activated according to some embodiments. Fig.18A 1800B. When switchable wave plate 1812B is activated, for example, when switch circuit 1816 applies current or voltage to switchable wave plate 1812B, adaptive lens assembly 1800B may be activated. Adaptive lens assembly 1800B may correspond to a first adaptive lens assembly (on the world side) or a second adaptive lens assembly (on the user side), for example.

[0326] When configured as a second adaptive lens assembly located on the user side, each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 can be configured to diverge light having one HCP (e.g., LHCP) propagating therethrough. Each of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 can also be configured to converge light having another HCP (e.g., RHCP) propagating therethrough.

[0327] Light from the transparent emissive display 1010 may be incident on the switchable lens assembly 1800B as a circularly polarized beam 1820 having an LHCP. In some embodiments, one or more polarizers and / or polarization control elements (e.g., one or more linear polarizers, retarders, or combinations thereof, and / or circular polarizers) may be included to provide appropriately polarized light (e.g., circularly polarized light in some cases). For example, one or more polarizers or polarization control elements (e.g., one or more linear polarizers, retarders, or combinations thereof, and / or circular polarizers) may be disposed relative to the transparent emissive display 1010 to transform the light output from the transparent emissive display, which light output may, for example, be reverse polarized to a suitable polarization (e.g., circularly polarized light in some cases). Other polarizers and / or polarization control components and / or their configurations may be included, and the positions may vary. The light beam 1820 travels, for example, along the positive z direction until the light beam 1820 impinges on and passes through the L1 / HWP 1804. L1 / HWP1 1804 transforms the light beam 1820 having the LHCP into a light beam 1824 having the RHCP. Since L1 / HWP1 1804 is configured to diverge the light having the LHCP, the light beam 1824 is also diverged according to the first optical power P1 of L1 / HWP1 1804.

[0328] The beam 1824 with RHCP is sequentially incident on the HWP3 1812B in the activated state. Fig.18B Unlike the deactivated HWP 1812A shown, since HWP3 1812B is activated, the beam 1824 having RHCP transmitted through HWP3 1812B is transformed into a beam 1828B having LCHP. Sequentially, the beam 1828B having LHCP is incident on L2 / HWP2 1808. Fig.18B Unlike the light beam 1828A shown, the light beam 1828B incident on the L2 / HWP2 1808 has an LHCP, so the L2 / HWP2 1808 further diverges the light beam 1828B into a light beam 1832B having an RHCP according to the second optical power P2. Fig.18BUnlike the deactivated state of HWP 1812A shown, since HWP 1812B is activated, L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP1 1804 are configured to transmit light beams having the same polarization LHCP. Fig.18B The compensation effects of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 are shown to be different. Fig. 18C L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 in the embodiment have a superimposed lens effect on the light propagating therethrough. That is, since both the light beam 1820 incident on L1 / HWP1 and the light beam 1828B incident on L2 / HWP2 1804 have LHCP, the light beam 1832B emitted from L2 / HWP2 1808 is further diverged in addition to being diverged by L1 / HWP1 1804. Thereafter, when emitted from the adaptive lens assembly 1800B in the activated state, the light beam 1832A can be viewed by the eye.

[0329] In some embodiments, the first power P1 of L1 / HWP1 1804 and the second power P2 of L2 / HWP2 1808 may both be negative (i.e., divergent) and may have substantially the same or matching magnitudes. In these embodiments, due to the combined superposition lens effect of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808, the net power Pnet of the adaptive lens assembly 1800B (which may be approximated as P1+P2) may be substantially twice that of P1 or P2. However, embodiments are not limited thereto, and the first power P1 and the second power P1, P2 may have different magnitudes.

[0330] Although in the illustrated embodiment, the incident light beam 1820 has an LHCP, a parallel output is generated when the incident light beam 1820 has an RHCP. That is, when the light beam 1820 has an RHCP, unlike the illustrated embodiment, the generated light beam 1832B has an LHCP and is converged by L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 according to a net optical power Pnet, which is approximately equal to the sum of the first optical power P1 and the second optical power P2.

[0331] It should be understood that the lens effects of L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 and the effects of these lenses on the above reference Fig. 18C The described dependence on the polarization state of the incident light beam is only an example, and other configurations are possible. Fig.18BIn the embodiment, L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 are configured to diverge light having LHCP while converging light having RHCP, but in other embodiments, L1 / HWP1 1804 and L2 / HWP2 1808 may be conversely configured to diverge light having LHCP while converging light having RHCP.

[0332] Therefore, in some embodiments, when the switchable half-wave plate 1812B of the adaptive lens assembly 1800B is in an activated state, the outgoing light beam 1832B has an opposite HCP relative to the incident light beam 1820 and can diverge according to the superimposed optical power of the additional optical power P1 of L1 / HWP1 1804 and the optical power P2 of L2 / HWP2 1808. Therefore, when the user views the virtual content, the virtual content is focused into the eye 210 according to the net optical power whose value is approximately Pnet=P1+P2.

[0333] In the above, an adaptive lens assembly in an activated state configured as a second adaptive lens assembly located on the user side in the display device described above has been described. However, as described above, activating the second adaptive lens assembly to display virtual content to the user's eye 210 without any compensation effect may result in an undesirable defocus or distortion of the real world view. Therefore, it is necessary to configure the first adaptive lens assembly located on the world side to at least partially compensate or offset the lens effect of the activated second adaptive lens assembly to display virtual content.

[0334] refer to Fig. 18C , when configured as a first adaptive lens assembly located on the world side for counteracting the lens effect of a second adaptive lens assembly located on the user side, the components of the adaptive lens assembly 1800B can be configured such that when light transmitted from the world 510 to the eye 210 traverses the first adaptive lens assembly and the second adaptive lens assembly ... Fig.18CEach component is configured in the manner described for the described adaptive lens assembly 1800B. In operation, as described above, the polarization of light transmitted from the world through the first adaptive lens assembly is transformed from a first polarization state to a second polarization state, for example, from RHCP to LHCP. Subsequently, the polarization of light transmitted through the second adaptive lens assembly is transformed from the second polarization state back to the first polarization state, for example, from LHCP to RHCP. In addition, the light transmitted from the world through the first adaptive lens assembly undergoes a first lens effect (e.g., a converging effect) according to a first net optical focal length Pnet1=P1+P2 having a first sign (e.g., a positive sign). Subsequently, the light transmitted through the second adaptive lens assembly undergoes a second lens effect (e.g., a diverging effect) opposite to the first lens effect according to a second net optical focal length Pnet2=P1'+P2' having a second sign (e.g., a negative sign), because the light incident on the second adaptive lens assembly has a polarization opposite to that of the light incident on the first adaptive lens assembly. When Pnet1 and Pnet2 have substantially similar sizes, the total lens effect approximated by P=Pnet1+Pnet2 may be substantially zero. Thus, when the user views virtual content and views real objects in the surrounding world by activating the second lens assembly, the view of the world is relatively unaffected by the compensation effect of the first lens assembly. As described above, in some embodiments, one or more polarizers and / or polarization control elements (e.g., one or more linear polarizers, retarders, or combinations thereof, and / or circular polarizers) may be included to provide appropriately polarized light (e.g., circularly polarized light in some cases). For example, one or more polarizers or polarization control elements (e.g., one or more linear polarizers, retarders, or combinations thereof, and / or circular polarizers) may be set relative to the world or environment in front of the user to convert light therefrom, which may, for example, be reverse polarized to a suitable polarization (e.g., circularly polarized light in some cases). Other polarizers and / or polarization control components and / or their configurations may be included, and the positions may vary.

[0335] In various embodiments, when activated, each of the first adaptive lens assembly and the second adaptive lens assembly can provide, for example, a net optical power (positive or negative) in a range between about ±5.0 diopters and 0 diopters, a range between ±4.0 diopters and 0 diopters, a range between ±3.0 diopters and 0 diopters, a range between ±2.0 diopters and 0 diopters, a range between ±1.0 diopters and 0 diopters, including any range defined by these values, such as a range between ±1.5 diopters. Other values ​​outside of these ranges and other ranges are also possible.

[0336] Multiple lens assemblies, possibly multiple switchable lens assemblies, may be employed to obtain a wide range of optical power values. In some configurations, multiple optical powers may be selectively provided by switching, such as using electrical signals applied to optical elements such as lenses and / or wave plates, or switching in other ways. Fig.16 Schematically illustrates a default virtual image depth fs0, and examples of a first virtual image depth fs1 to a sixth virtual image depth fs6 that can be selected for a user 1604 by selecting one or more of the sub-stacks 1508-1, 1508-2, 1508-3 in the second adaptive lens assembly 1508 in the display device disclosed herein. In addition, the selected one of the sub-stacks 1508-1, 1508-2, 1508-3 in the second adaptive lens assembly 1508 is paired with a corresponding sub-stack in the sub-stacks 1504-1, 1504-2, 1504-3 in the first adaptive lens 1504 so that undesirable defocus or distortion in the real-world view is reduced or minimized.

[0337] Other designs and configurations for providing optical power are possible. For example, a reflective optical element may be employed, such as a reflective liquid crystal element (such as a cholesteric liquid crystal optical element).

[0338] As described herein, some display devices include an eyepiece that is configured to project light asymmetrically toward the world (e.g., away from the user's eye 4 toward the world), and then project the light to an optical structure (e.g., a lens) that reverses the direction of the light back toward the user's eye 4 (e.g., by reflection or diffraction). Figures 14 to 16 reflective wave plate lens or small lens array 1410).

[0339] Fig. 20A and Fig. 20B A reflective diffractive lens 3100A is shown that can be implemented as part of a display device, where the reflective diffractive lens 3100A is formed from a patterned CLC material and acts as a reflective polarizer. Fig. 20A The local orientation of the liquid crystal director (arrow) on top of a Fresnel pattern (e.g., a binary Fresnel lens pattern) is shown. Thus, the CLC lens 3100A can be configured to have an optical power (which can be adjusted, for example, by an applied electric field). Embodiments of the CLC lens 3100A can be used in Figures 14 to 16 Provides reflectivity and optical power in displays.

[0340] refer to Fig. 20B, when the lens 3100A is illuminated by circularly polarized incident light 3012 having a circular polarization corresponding to (e.g., having the same handedness as) the chirality of the CLC (e.g., RHCP), the reflected light 3016 exhibits a lens effect similar to that of a transmission lens. On the other hand, light having an orthogonal polarization (e.g., LHCP) is transmitted without any interference. The lens 3100A can be configured to have a bandwidth in a range of less than about 10 nm, less than about 25 nm, less than about 50 nm, less than about 100 nm, or in some other range.

[0341] Fig. 20C A reflective diffractive lens 3100C including a plurality of reflective diffractive lenses 3100-R, 3100-G, and 3100-B is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the reflective diffractive lenses 3100-R, 3100-G, and 3100-B are in a stacked configuration and are configured to reflect light within a wavelength range Δλ within the red, green, and blue spectrums, respectively. When the lens 3100C is illuminated by circularly polarized incident light 3012 having a handedness corresponding to the chirality of the CLC (e.g., RHCP) and a wavelength within a wavelength range Δλ within the red, green, and blue spectrums, the reflected light 3016 exhibits a lens effect similar to that of a transmissive lens. On the other hand, light having an orthogonal polarization (e.g., LHCP) is transmitted without any interference.

[0342] Diffractive lenses (e.g., Fresnel-based lenses / Fresnel lenses) often produce severe chromatic aberrations when the focal length 3204 varies depending on the wavelength of light. This chromatic aberration is Fig.21A 32 is shown relative to diffractive lens 3200A, which shows that the incident red, green and blue light are focused at different distances from lens 3200A.

[0343] Benefiting from the moderate bandwidth of the CLC material, a stack of lenses can be realized with substantially the same focal length for different colors. Fig.21B shows the use of reference Fig. 20C The reflective diffractive lens 3100C shown is a reflective diffractive lens 3200B having a plurality of reflective diffractive lenses 3200-R, 3200-G and 3200-B stacked in a similar configuration. Fig.21B As shown, three separate lenses 3200-R, 3200-G, and 3200-B are designed to have substantially the same focal length or optical power for red, green, and blue wavelengths, respectively. Since the bandwidth of the CLC material is between about 50nm and 100nm in many embodiments, crosstalk between the three wavelengths can be reduced or minimized. Although three CLC layers are shown, fewer or greater numbers of layers can be used corresponding to the color of light incident on lens 3200B.

[0344] Wave plate lenses or lenslet arrays can be produced by producing a plurality of such lenses (e.g., liquid crystal lenses), for example, laterally spaced apart in an array (such as a rectangular array). Transmission wave plate lenses or lenslet arrays can be produced by producing a plurality of transmission wave plate lenses, for example, laterally spaced apart in an array (such as a rectangular array). Reflection wave plate lenses or lenslet arrays can be produced by producing a plurality of reflection wave plate lenses, for example, laterally spaced apart in an array (such as a rectangular array). In some embodiments, the lenses in the lens array can be smaller than the single lens embodiments.

[0345] A variety of changes are possible. For example, as shown in the figure, lenses such as single lenses 1018, 1016 or lens arrays 1030, 1020, 1014, 106 can be used. Charged or uncharged reflectors can also be used. As shown in the figure, reflective lenslets 1410 can be used. In some implementations, although lenses or lenslet arrays or reflective lenses or lenslet arrays can be used, single lenses 1018, 1016 or reflectors (near and / or far ends) can also be used. Liquid crystal lenses and / or reflectors can be included in the system. Wave plate lenses or lenslet arrays can be used. These wave plate lenses or lenslet arrays can be reflective or transmissive. Any combination is possible. Any element can also be excluded from the system. For example, lenslet arrays 1020, 1030, 1012, 1014 or single lenses 1016, 1018 (near and / or far ends) are used without the need for a zoom lens (near or far ends). In addition, the order can be changed. For example, in some embodiments, one or more zoom arrays 1040, 1050 (proximal or distal) may be closer to the transparent emission array 1010 than other single lenses 1016, 1018 or lenslet arrays 1020, 1030, 1012, 1014 (proximal or distal). Many other variations are possible.

[0346] It should be understood that each of the processes, methods, and algorithms described herein and / or shown in the accompanying drawings may be embodied in and fully or partially automated by: code modules, which are executed by one or more physical computing systems, hardware computer processors, special-purpose circuits, and / or electronic hardware, which are configured to execute specific and particular computer instructions. For example, a computing system may include a general-purpose computer (e.g., a server) or a special-purpose computer, special-purpose circuit, etc., programmed with specific computer instructions. Code modules may be compiled and linked into an executable program, installed in a dynamic link library, or may be written in an interpretive programming language. In some embodiments, specific operations and methods may be performed by circuits dedicated to a given function.

[0347] Furthermore, certain embodiments of the functionality of the present disclosure are sufficiently mathematically, computationally, or technically complex that specialized hardware or one or more physical computing devices (with appropriate specialized executable instructions) are necessary in order to perform the functionality (e.g., as determined by the amount or complexity of the computations involved) or to provide results in substantially real time. For example, a video may include many frames, each with millions of pixels, and specialized programmed computer hardware may be required to process the video data to provide the desired image processing task or application in a commercially reasonable time.

[0348] Code modules or any type of data may be stored on any type of non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a physical computer storage device, including a hard drive, solid-state memory, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), optical disk, volatile or non-volatile storage device, and combinations of the same or similar elements. In some embodiments, the non-transitory computer readable medium may be part of one or more of the local processing and data module (140), the remote processing module (150), and the remote data repository (160). The methods and modules (or data) may also be transmitted as a generated data signal (e.g., as part of a carrier wave or other analog or digital propagation signal) on various computer-readable transmission media, including wireless-based and wire / cable-based media, which may take a variety of forms (e.g., as part of a single or multiplexed analog signal, or as multiple discrete digital packets or frames). The results of the disclosed processes or processing steps may be stored persistently or otherwise in any type of non-transitory tangible computer storage device, or may be transmitted via a computer-readable transmission medium.

[0349] Any process, box, state, step or function in the flowchart described herein and / or shown in the accompanying drawings should be understood to potentially represent a code module, fragment or code portion, which includes one or more executable instructions for implementing a specific function (e.g., logic or arithmetic function) or step in the process. Various processes, boxes, states, steps or functions can perform the following operations together with the exemplary examples provided herein: combination, rearrangement, addition, deletion, modification or other changes. In some embodiments, additional or different computing systems or code modules can perform part or all of the functions described herein. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular order, and the boxes, steps or states associated therewith can be performed in other suitable sequences, such as serial, parallel or some other way. Tasks or events can be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. In addition, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described herein is for illustrative purposes and should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments. It should be understood that the described program components, methods and systems can generally be integrated together in a single computer product or packaged into multiple computer products.

[0350] In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will be apparent, however, that various modifications and alterations may be made to the invention without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings should therefore be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0351] In fact, it should be understood that the systems and methods of the present disclosure each have several innovative aspects, any single aspect of which is not solely responsible for or necessary for the desired characteristics disclosed herein. The various features and processes described above can be used independently of each other, or can be used in combination in various ways. All possible combinations and sub-combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0352] Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments in this specification may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately in multiple embodiments, or in any suitable sub-combination. In addition, although features may function in a particular combination as described above, and may even be initially claimed in this manner, in some cases, one or more features in the claimed combination may be excluded from the combination, and the claimed combination may involve a sub-combination or a variation of a sub-combination. For each embodiment, no single feature or feature group is essential or indispensable.

[0353] It should be understood that, unless otherwise specifically stated, or otherwise understood in context, conditional terms such as "may", "can", "possibly", "can", "for example", etc. used herein are generally intended to express that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include certain features, elements and / or steps. Therefore, such conditional terms are generally not intended to imply that features, elements and / or steps are necessary for one or more embodiments in any way, nor are they intended to imply that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining whether these features, elements and / or steps are included in or will be executed in any specific embodiment with or without programmer input or prompts. The terms "include", "comprise", "have", etc. are synonyms and are used inclusively in an open manner and do not exclude other elements, features, actions, operations, etc. In addition, the term "or" is used in its inclusive meaning (rather than exclusive meaning), so when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term "or" means one, some or all of the elements in the list. In addition, unless otherwise stated, the articles "one", "an", and "said" used in this application and the appended claims should be interpreted as meaning "one or more" or "at least one". Similarly, although the operations may be shown in a particular order in the accompanying drawings, it should be appreciated that these operations do not need to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or all the operations shown need to be performed to achieve the desired results. In addition, the accompanying drawings may schematically illustrate one or more example processes in the form of a flow chart. However, other operations not shown may be incorporated into the schematically illustrated example methods and processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be before, after, at the same time, or during any of the operations shown. In addition, in other embodiments, the operations may be rearranged or sequenced. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing are advantageous. In addition, the separation of various system components in the above-described embodiments should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the program components and systems described may generally be integrated together in a single software product or encapsulated in multiple software products. In addition, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions listed in the claims may be performed in different orders and still achieve the desired results.

[0354] Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the disclosure, the principles and the novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A head mounted display system configured to project light into eyes of a user to display augmented reality image content in the user's field of view, the head mounted display system comprising: a frame configured to be supported on the user's head; an eyepiece disposed on the frame, at least a portion of the eyepiece being transparent and disposed at a position in front of an eye of the user when the user wears the head mounted display, such that the transparent portion transmits light from an environment in front of the user toward the user's eye to provide a view of the environment in front of the user; as well as at least one shutter comprising a spatial light modulator configured to receive an electrical input so that one or more pixels of the spatial light modulator are transmissive and other pixels of the spatial light modulator are opaque, Wherein, the eyepiece includes a transparent emissive display having a plurality of emitters, the transparent emissive display being configured to emit light into the user's eyes to display augmented reality image content to the user's field of view, the transparent emissive display being transparent and emissive in an area, and the transparent emissive display being disposed at a position in front of the user's eyes when the user wears the head-mounted display, so that the transparent emissive display transmits light from the environment in front of the user to the user's eyes through the transparent emissive area to provide a view of the environment in front of the user.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The transparent emissive display includes an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display.

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: A proximal lens array is disposed on a proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the proximal lens array is between the transparent emissive display and the user's eyes.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein: The proximal lens array is configured to reduce divergence of light emitted by the transparent emissive display.

5. The system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The proximal lens array includes lenses having positive optical power.

6. A system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein: The proximal lens array is configured to collimate light emitted by the transparent emissive display.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein: The proximal lens array includes lenses with positive optical power disposed at a focal distance from the emitter.

8. The system according to any one of claims 3 to 7 further includes a distal lens array, which is arranged on the distal side of the transparent emissive display opposite to the proximal side so that the distal lens array is between the transparent emissive display and the environment in front of the user.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein: The distal lens array has an optical power that counteracts the optical power introduced by the proximal lens array to reduce the refractive effect of the proximal lens array on the view of the environment in front of the user.

10. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a proximal variable focus optical element, which is arranged on the proximal side of the transparent emissive display so that the proximal variable focus optical element is between the transparent emissive display and the user's eyes.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein: The proximal variable focus optical element has an electrical input configured to receive an electrical signal to change a state of the variable focus optical element and a focus of the variable focus optical element.

12. The system according to claim 10 or 11, wherein: The proximal variable focus optical element is configured to vary the divergence of light emitted from the emissive display so that different image content appears to be emitted from different distances in front of the eyepiece.

13. A system according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein: The proximal variable focus optical element is configured to change between two states that introduce different negative optical powers to change the divergence of light from the transparent emissive display.

14. The system according to claim 10 or 11, wherein: The proximal variable focus optical element is configured to collimate light from the transparent emissive display when in one state.

15. The system according to any one of claims 10 to 14, further comprising a distal variable focus optical element, which is arranged on the distal side of the transparent emissive display so that the distal variable focus optical element is between the transparent emissive display and the environment in front of the user.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein: The distal variable-focus optical element has an electrical input configured to receive an electrical signal to change a state of the distal variable-focus optical element and a focus of the distal variable-focus optical element.

17. The system according to claim 15 or 16, wherein: The distal variable-focus optical element is configured to provide optical power that counteracts optical power introduced by the proximal variable-focus optical element to reduce a refractive effect of the proximal variable-focus optical element on a view of an environment in front of the user.

18. The system of any one of claims 10 to 17, further comprising at least one shutter disposed on a proximal side of the transparent emissive display such that the at least one shutter is between the transparent emissive display and an eye of the user.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein: The at least one shutter includes first and second spatial light modulators each including a plurality of pixels, the first and second spatial light modulators having electrical inputs configured to receive electrical signals to selectively change a transmissive state of the pixels.

20. The system according to claim 19 further includes an electronic device, which is electrically coupled to the electrical input ends of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator to make one or more pixels on the first spatial light modulator transmissive and the surrounding pixels opaque, and to make one or more of the pixels on the second spatial light modulator transmissive and the surrounding pixels on the second spatial light modulator opaque, so that light of a certain angle direction emitted from certain emitters of the transparent emissive display propagates through both the transmissive pixels of the first spatial light modulator and the transmissive pixels of the second spatial light modulator.

21. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein: The transparent emissive display includes an electrode having a transparent conductive material.

22. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 21, further comprising: A proximal lens and a distal lens are disposed in an optical path between the transparent emissive display and an environment, wherein the at least one shutter is between the proximal lens and the distal lens.

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