Eyepiece waveguide for augmented reality display systems

Abstract

An eyepiece waveguide for an augmented reality display system includes a light-transmitting substrate, a first input coupling grid (ICG) region, a second ICG region, and one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids. The first ICG region can receive an input light beam corresponding to a first color component of the input image and couple the input light beam to the substrate. The second ICG region can receive an input light beam corresponding to a second color component of the input image and couple the input light beam to the substrate. The pupil dilators and extraction grids can duplicate the input coupled beam and output couple it from the substrate. The first and second ICG regions can be positioned at angularly separated locations around the substrate. The eyepiece waveguide can reduce color distortion in the output image.

Claims

1. An eyepiece waveguide for an augmented reality display system, wherein the eyepiece waveguide is A light-transmitting substrate and A first input coupling grid (ICG) region formed on or inside the light-transmitting substrate, wherein the first ICG region is configured to receive a first set of input light beams corresponding to a first color component of an input image and to couple at least a portion of the first set of input light beams to the light-transmitting substrate as a first set of guided beams, A second ICG region formed on or inside the light-transmitting substrate, configured to receive a second set of input light beams corresponding to a second color component of the input image, and to couple at least a portion of the second set of input light beams to the light-transmitting substrate as a second set of guided beams, One or more pupil dilators and extraction grids formed on or inside the light-transmitting substrate, wherein the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids are configured to receive the first set of guiding beams and the second set of guiding beams, to duplicate the first set of guiding beams and the second set of guiding beams at a plurality of spatially separated locations, and to output-couple the guiding beams and the duplicated beams from the light-transmitting substrate, Equipped with, The first ICG region and the second ICG region are provided at angularly separated positions around the light-transmitting substrate. Eyepiece waveguide for augmented reality display systems.

2. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region are separated by an angle of at least 30 degrees around the light-transmitting substrate.

3. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region are separated at a 180-degree angle around the light-transmitting substrate.

4. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the first ICG region is provided on the temporal side of the eyepiece waveguide, and the second ICG region is provided on the nasal side of the eyepiece waveguide.

5. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the first ICG region is configured to receive a red input light beam, and the second ICG region is configured to receive a blue input light beam.

6. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein both the first ICG region and the second ICG region include diffraction features having the same spatial periodicity.

7. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, further comprising a third ICG region configured to receive a set of third input light beams corresponding to a third color component of the input image, and to couple at least a portion of the set of third input light beams to the light-transmitting substrate as a set of third guide beams.

8. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 7, wherein the third ICG region is provided adjacent to the first ICG region or the second ICG region.

9. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 7, wherein the third ICG region at least partially overlaps with the first ICG region or the second ICG region.

10. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the refractive index of the light-transmitting substrate is 1.6 to 2.

7.

11. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids comprise a coupled pupil dilator / extraction (CPE) grid.

12. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting substrate comprises an organic polymer material.

13. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 12, wherein the organic polymer material comprises at least one of polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, or a sulfur-containing polymer.

14. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting substrate comprises inorganic amorphous glass.

15. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting substrate comprises an inorganic crystalline material.

16. The inorganic crystalline material is LiNbO ３ , LiTaO ３ The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 15, comprising SiC.

17. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region, or the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids, comprises a binary square ridge grid, a blaze grid, a sawtooth grid, a multi-stage grid, an inclined grid, or a two-dimensional arrangement of holes or columns.

18. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region operate in transmission mode or reflection mode.

19. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region, or the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids, include a coating with a refractive index of 1.8 to 2.

6.

20. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the input image has a field of view (FOV), and the first k-space FOV shape corresponding to the first set of guide beams has an end that aligns with the outer circumference of the k-space annular portion corresponding to the eyepiece waveguide.

21. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 20, wherein the second k-space FOV shape corresponding to the second set of guide beams has an end that aligns with the inner circumference of the k-space annular portion corresponding to the eyepiece waveguide.

22. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 1, wherein a first k-space field of view (FOV) shape corresponding to the first set of guiding beams and a second k-space FOV shape corresponding to the second set of guiding beams are cut out in k-space when diffracted by the one or more pupil dilators and extraction gratings.

23. The eyepiece waveguide according to claim 22, wherein the cut-out portions of the first k-space FOV shape and the second k-space FOV shape overlap each other.

24. A first projector configured to generate a first set of input light beams, A second projector configured to generate a second set of input light beams, A light-transmitting substrate and A first input coupling grid (ICG) region formed on or inside the light-transmitting substrate, wherein the first ICG region is configured to receive the first set of input light beams and to couple at least a portion of the first set of input light beams to the light-transmitting substrate as a first set of guided beams, A second ICG region formed on or inside the light-transmitting substrate, wherein the second ICG region is configured to receive the second set of input light beams and to couple at least a portion of the second set of input light beams to the light-transmitting substrate as a second set of guided beams, and the first ICG region and the second ICG region are provided at angularly separated positions around the light-transmitting substrate, One or more pupil dilators and extraction grids formed on or inside the light-transmitting substrate, wherein the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids are configured to receive the first set of guide beams and the second set of guide beams, duplicate the first set of guide beams and the second set of guide beams, and output couple the duplicated beams from the light-transmitting substrate, An augmented reality display system equipped with [specific features / features].

25. The first set of input light beams corresponds to the first color component of the input image, The second set of input light beams corresponds to the second color component of the input image, The augmented reality display system according to claim 24.

26. The augmented reality display system according to claim 25, wherein the input image has a field of view (FOV), and the first k-space FOV shape corresponding to the first set of guide beams has an end that aligns with the outer circumference of the k-space annular portion corresponding to the light-transmitting substrate.

27. The augmented reality display system according to claim 26, wherein the second k-space FOV shape corresponding to the second set of guide beams has an end that aligns with the inner circumference of the k-space annular portion corresponding to the light-transmitting substrate.

28. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids are configured to replicate a first set of guidance beams at a first position and a second set of guidance beams at a second position spatially separated from the first position.

29. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region are separated by an angle of at least 30 degrees around the light-transmitting substrate.

30. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region are separated at a 180-degree angle around the light-transmitting substrate.

31. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the first ICG region is provided on the temporal side of the light-transmitting substrate, and the second ICG region is provided on the nasal side of the light-transmitting substrate.

32. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the first ICG region is configured to receive a red input light beam, and the second ICG region is configured to receive a blue input light beam.

33. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein both the first ICG region and the second ICG region include diffraction features having the same spatial periodicity.

34. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, further comprising a third ICG region configured to receive a third set of input light beams corresponding to a third color component of an input image, and to couple at least a portion of the third set of input light beams to the light-transmitting substrate as a third set of guide beams.

35. The augmented reality display system according to claim 34, wherein the third ICG region is provided adjacent to the first ICG region or the second ICG region.

36. The augmented reality display system according to claim 34, wherein the third ICG region at least partially overlaps with the first ICG region or the second ICG region.

37. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the refractive index of the light-transmitting substrate is 1.6 to 2.

7.

38. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids comprise a combined pupil dilator / extraction (CPE) grid.

39. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the light-transmitting substrate comprises an organic polymer material.

40. The augmented reality display system according to claim 39, wherein the organic polymer material comprises at least one of polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, or a sulfur-containing polymer.

41. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the light-transmitting substrate comprises inorganic amorphous glass.

42. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the light-transmitting substrate comprises an inorganic crystalline material.

43. The inorganic crystalline material is LiNbO ３ , LiTaO ３ The augmented reality display system according to claim 42, comprising, or SiC.

44. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region, or the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids, comprises a binary square ridge grid, a blaze grid, a sawtooth grid, a multi-stage grid, an inclined grid, or a two-dimensional array of holes or columns.

45. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region operate in a transmission mode or a reflection mode.

46. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein the first ICG region and the second ICG region, or the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids, are coated with a refractive index of 1.8 to 2.

6.

47. The augmented reality display system according to claim 24, wherein a first k-space field of view (FOV) shape corresponding to the first set of guide beams and a second k-space FOV shape corresponding to the second set of guide beams are cut out in k-space when diffracted by the one or more pupil dilators and extraction grids.

48. The augmented reality display system according to claim 47, wherein the cut-out portions of the first k-space FOV shape and the second k-space FOV shape overlap each other.

Images