Optical Combiner Lens Reflective Coating Seal Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
It remains challenging to integrate optical combiners effectively into lenses for wearable heads-up displays, particularly in ensuring proper light propagation and sealing while maintaining optical clarity and functionality.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a lightguide with input and output couplers, a reflective optical coating, and a sealant layer between the lens and lightguide, where the reflective coating is positioned between the seal and the propagation zone to facilitate total internal reflection and maintain a hermetic seal, allowing for efficient light redirection and propagation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a seal is positioned over the propagation zone of the lightguide to create a hermetic seal between the lens and lightguide, then sealing reliability is improved, but light propagation is blocked or disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
A reflective optical coating is applied to the lightguide surface within the propagation zone, serving as an intermediary between the seal and the light propagation path. This coating reflects light that would otherwise be blocked by the seal, allowing the seal to maintain hermetic sealing while light propagation continues uninterrupted through the reflective pathway.
2Reliability
If the seal is positioned to overlap the propagation zone to ensure hermetic sealing, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but optical clarity is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The reflective optical coating acts as an intermediary that optically isolates the seal from the light propagation path. By reflecting light away from the seal structure, the coating maintains optical clarity in the propagation zone while allowing the seal to maintain its hermetic effectiveness.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the lightguide and lens are stacked with a seal between them to maintain structural integrity, then structural stability is improved, but light redirection efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The reflective optical coating serves as an intermediary that compensates for the structural interruption caused by the seal. It redirects light that would be blocked by the seal structure, maintaining light redirection efficiency while allowing the stacked configuration with seal to provide structural stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables effective combination of real and virtual images by ensuring light is properly redirected and sealed, enhancing the performance and reliability of wearable heads-up displays by maintaining optical clarity and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
substrate-guided combiners, light enters a guide substrate, e.g., a waveguide or lightguide, typically through an in-coupling element, propagates along the length of the guide substrate by total internal reflection
Implementation Method 2
A reflective optical coating is interposed between the portion of the seal and the portion of the propagation zone
Data Source
AI summary
An optical combiner lens includes a lightguide having an input zone at which light enters the lightguide, an output zone from which light exits the lightguide, and a propagation zone between the input zone and the output zone that provides a propagation path for light from the input zone to the output zone. A lens is stacked over the lightguide. A seal engages the lightguide and the lens. The seal is positioned relative to the lightguide such that a portion of the seal is stacked over a portion of the propagation zone. A reflective optical coating is interposed between the portion of the propagation zone and the portion of the seal.