See-Through Display Conductors With Local Thickness to Cut Diffraction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
AR displays suffer from diffraction artifacts due to the phase shift caused by patterned transparent conductors, which degrade the perceived quality when users view both display light and external world light simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
Reduce the thickness of transparent conductors in specific regions of the AWO display layer, employing multiple thicknesses to minimize phase differences and diffraction patterns, while maintaining conductive integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If patterned transparent conductors are used in the AWO display layer, then electrical conductivity is achieved, but diffraction artifacts occur due to phase shift
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different thicknesses of transparent conductor material to different regions of the AWO display layer. Specifically, a first thickness is used in a first region and a second thickness (different from the first) is used in a second region. This local variation in thickness allows the conductor to maintain electrical conductivity while minimizing phase differences that cause diffraction artifacts, thus resolving the contradiction between conductive integrity and diffraction reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of conductor thickness to optimize performance. By varying the thickness of the transparent conductor material across different regions of the AWO display layer, the patent achieves both adequate electrical conductivity and reduced diffraction artifacts. This parameter change allows the system to balance the competing requirements of conductivity and optical quality.
2Ease of manufacture
If uniform thickness transparent conductors are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but diffraction artifacts increase due to phase shift
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by specifying different thicknesses for different regions of the AWO display layer. A first thickness is applied in a first region and a second thickness is applied in a second region. This approach maintains relative manufacturing simplicity while effectively reducing diffraction artifacts through localized thickness variation, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and artifact reduction.
3Reliability
If thicker transparent conductors are used, then conductive integrity is improved, but phase shift increases causing more diffraction artifacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by applying different thicknesses of transparent conductor material to different regions. A first thickness is used in a first region and a second thickness is used in a second region. This local differentiation allows adequate conductivity to be achieved in regions where thicker material is applied, while regions with stricter phase shift requirements use thinner material, thus simultaneously satisfying both conductive integrity and phase shift control requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the thickness parameter of the transparent conductor material to optimize the balance between conductivity and phase shift. By varying this physical parameter across different regions of the AWO display layer, the patent achieves both adequate electrical conductivity and controlled phase shift, resolving the contradiction between conductive integrity and manufacturing precision.
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
Mitigates diffraction artifacts, enhancing the clarity and quality of augmented reality displays by reducing the appearance of blur and double images, thereby improving the user's AR experience.
Implementation Method 1
AR displays suffer from diffraction artifacts due to the phase shift caused by patterned transparent conductors
Implementation Method 2
the phase shift caused by patterned transparent conductors
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Techniques are described regarding production and use of addressable world occlusion elements for reducing or eliminating diffraction artifacts in a wearable or other augmented reality (AR) display in which the user views the world through an optical combiner. An addressable world occlusion display layer is optically coupled to a lens element of the AR display to selectively occlude external world light passing through lens elements. The addressable world occlusion display layer comprises patterned depositions of a substantially transparent conductor disposed across multiple regions, such that the patterned depositions disposed within a first region of the multiple regions have substantially a first thickness, and the patterned depositions disposed within a second region of the multiple regions have a second thickness that is different than the first thickness.