Compact head-mounted display system having uniform image

Abstract

There is disclosed an optical device, including a light-transmitting substrate having an input aperture, an output aperture, at least two major surfaces and edges, an optical element for coupling light waves into the substrate by total internal reflection, at least one partially reflecting surface located between the two major surfaces of the light-transmitting substrate for partially reflect ing light waves out of the substrate, a first transparent plate, having at least two major surfaces, one of the major surfaces of the transparent plate being optically attached to a major surface of the light-transmitting substrate defining an interface plane, and a beam-splitting coating applied at the interface plane between the substrate and the transparent plate, wherein light waves coupled in side the light-transmitting substrate are partially reflected from the interface plane and partially pass therethrough.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to substrate-guided optical devices, and particularly to devices which include a plurality of reflecting surfaces carried by a common light-transmissive substrate, also referred to as a light-guide optical element (LOE).[0002]The invention can be implemented to advantage in a large number of imaging applications, such as, for example, head-mounted and head-up displays, cellular phones, compact displays, 3-D displays, compact beam expanders as well as non-imaging applications such as flat-panel indicators, compact illuminators and scanners.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]One of the important applications for compact optical elements is in head-mounted displays, wherein an optical module serves both as an imaging lens and a combiner, in which a two-dimensional display is imaged to infinity and reflected into the eye of an observer. The display can be obtained directly from either a spatial light modulator (SLM) such as a catho...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a method for making very small but high-quality optical systems for applications like head-mounted displays and mobile phones. These systems offer a wide field of view and can accommodate large movements of the eye. Compared to existing technologies, the invention is much more compact. This makes it easy to integrate into different optical systems. The invention improves the viewing quality of displays in mobile devices and allows for full video transmission in a compact device. The main objective is to provide better optical performance for various applications.

Problems solved by technology

The limiting factor remains the quality of the display within the device of the end-user.

The mobility requirement restricts the physical size of the displays, and the result is a direct-display with poor image viewing quality.

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