Proceedings of Spie: Wide Field of View Multiplexed Photopolymer Consumer AR Displays
Proceedings of Spie: Wide Field of View Multiplexed Photopolymer Consumer AR Displays
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ABSTRACT
Wide field of view color waveguide display reference designs for low-cost consumer AR displays using high index
modulation photopolymer and liquid crystal material for providing compact wide-angle, displays are presented.
Keywords: Diffractive optics, switchable gratings, augmented reality, AR, wearable displays, liquid crystal, holography;
waveguide; head-up display; optics).
1. INTRODUCTION
Delivering wide field-of-view (FoV) color, daylight-compatible brightness and ultra-compact form factors at an
acceptable price presents major development hurdles for consumer AR displays1. The form factor challenge is only
partially met using thin waveguides; current picture generation units, comprising the microdisplay beam splitter and
projection optics, are increasingly seen as too bulky to satisfy the aesthetic requirements of consumer eyewear, while
traditional input, fold and output grating architectures occupy too much waveguide real estate. Brightness and power
consumption are compromised by the inefficiencies of current solutions for coupling light from a picoprojector into a
waveguide (typically incurring 95% loss). Lasers now offer a commercially viable solution for enhancing color and
brightness but bring new problems: speckle and other illumination non-uniformities. This paper reviews developments
by DigiLens directed at a compact wide angle, full color laser illuminated consumer AR waveguide. DigiLens is
prototyping a novel Integrated Dual Axis (IDA) waveguide architecture (Figure 1) which multiplexes beam expansion
and extraction gratings using a high index modulation holographic LC-photopolymer material system optimized for wide
angle multiplex grating applications. Complementing this compact waveguide design, DigiLens’s Waveguide Integrated
Laser Display (WILD) projector provides a compact image generator combining despeckling, homogenization, beam
shaping, beam splitting and image projection from a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) panel.
Optical Architectures for Displays and Sensing in Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality (AR, VR, MR),
edited by Bernard C. Kress, Christophe Peroz, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 11310, 113100I
© 2020 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/20/$21 · doi: 10.1117/12.2551872
Figure 2 summarizes the basic theory underlying SBGs based on Kogelnik’s coupled wave theory for thick holographic
gratings4 and the correction for a birefringent medium by Montemezzani and Zgonik5. A fundamental difference
between birefringent (anisotropic index) gratings and isotropic index gratings is that, in the former, the wave propagation
vectors and energy propagation vectors are at different angles. Figure 2a shows a basic transmission Bragg grating with
a grating vector K and Bragg fringe separation Λ and surface grating pitch Λy, where ki, kd are the incident and diffracted
wave vectors, and si, sd are the incident and diffracted energy propagation vectors (or Poynting vectors), which are
inclined at angles α1,α2 to the propagation axis (z). The walk-off angles between the wave vectors and the energy
propagation vectors, represented by the angles δ1, δ2, result in a shift of the diffractive efficiency versus angle
characteristics relative to the Kogelnik prediction. The incident and diffracted polarization unit vectors e1, e2, may have
any direction. Equations for calculating the diffraction efficiency for an unslanted grating are shown in Figure 2b.
Application of the equations for calculating diffraction efficiency requires transformation of vectors into the reference
frame of the slanted grating, which can be accomplished using Euler angle transformations. The equations are similar to
Kogelnik’s equations, apart from the parameter ξ, governing coupling between the incident and diffracted beams, which
is now expressed in terms of the polarization vectors and the relativity permittivity modulation tensor εr, which is
illustrated for the isotropic modulation case in Figure 2c. The parameter ν, governing detuning from the on-Bragg
condition (Figure 2d), is expressed in terms of the wavevector mismatch Δk arising in the off-Bragg condition
(illustrated in Figure 2e). In birefringent gratings, the index and modulation can be represented by the equivalent uniaxial
crystal corresponding to the grating. The refractive index tensor for the equivalent optical crystal with optical axis
aligned parallel to the grating vector is shown in Figure 2f, and the crystal ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices
(no,ne) are shown Figure 2g.
A waveguide architecture of the type shown in Figure 3 is used in the DigiLens Crystal25 two-layer monocular
waveguide display (formally known as the DigiLens MonoHUD). One major application is a fully eyes-on-road
motorcycle HUD for providing critical road information to the rider safely, efficiently and without interfering with the
helmet visor. The display provides a maximum brightness of 5,000 nits, nHD (640×360) image resolution, an
unobscured user FoV of 105º, an AR display FoV of 25º diagonal and can accommodate prescription. The DigiLens
Crystal25 will be supplied in volume by Young Optics of Taiwan.
Figure 5 shows wave number space (k-space) representations of conventional dual axis expansion and integrated
dual axis waveguides in. The grating vectors (K-vectors) are illustrated by the arrow lines in each case. The outer
circle in each diagram corresponds to the maximum waveguide angle and the inner circle to the TIR limit of the
waveguide. The waveguide angular carrying capacity is represented by the space between the two concentric rings.
Typically, in wide angle IDA waveguides, the K-vectors are arranged asymmetrically.
Figure 5: Examples of k-space diagrams for traditional and IDA waveguide architectures.
A further benefit of IDA architectures is the reduced average holographic photopolymer refractive index requirement.
For example, using traditional dual axis expansion, an index of 1.76 is required to achieve a 50º FoV; an equivalent IDA
architecture requires an index of only 1.57 due to the need to support only half the FoV. Using k-space mapping it can
be shown that a FoV of around 100º diagonal is achievable using a photopolymer with an average index of 1.62.
Figure 7: Plan view of principal IDA light paths and grating footprints.
Figure 10 illustrates the more compact optical layout achievable with an IDA waveguide in comparison with a dual axis
expansion waveguide of equivalent specification.
Figure 10: Comparison of traditional dual axis and integrated dual axis optical layouts.
Figure 12: DigiLens Iris using Crystal50 IDA waveguide architectures front and side elevation views.
Parameter Specification
Field of View 50º diagonal binocular or 60º diagonal binocular
Transparency 85% (estimated)
Resolution HD 720p (16:9)
Eye relief 17mm
Eyebox 12mm x 10mm
Focus distance Infinity
Color RGB
Weight 280 grams
Interface HDMI, USB
Tracking VSLAM 6DoF; Refresh rate: up to 200fps; Latency: < 6ms
RGB Camera FoV: 86º ; Still image: 3872 x 2592; Video: 30fps, 1920x1080
A binocular overlap of the left and right waveguide eyeglass display can be used to provide binocular FoVs of either 50º
or 60º total binocular FoV (Figure 14). The resolution and FoV are limited only by the picoprojector. DigiLens is
working with leading picoprojector manufacturers to scale the optical architecture to 90º near term and, eventually, up to
150º as OEM application demand materializes and higher resolution picoprojector solutions emerge. Delivering
resolution improvements commensurate with such large FoVs is a major challenge for next generation AR displays.
Figure 15 shows a waveguide design in which two 50° diagonal waveguides, each targeting half of the FoV in a
monocular arrangement, are aligned to yield a 70° horizontal x 35° vertical FoV. Each waveguide set can be
overlapped by 50° horizontally to achieve a 100° diagonal binocular FoV.
Authoring of DigiLens waveguides is performed using custom-developed software tools specially developed for
modelling our birefringent gratings and currently only available to licensees. These include dynamic-link library (DLL)
code running under ZEMAX®, capable of ray tracing anisotropic grating waveguides, and a suite of other proprietary
tools for grating and waveguide system modelling for determining optimal grating prescriptions and footprints to meet
specific FoV requirements. The coated substrate is then exposed in a multi-station laser exposure rig effectively
recording the gratings into the RMLCM layer with 30-micron resolution and with full part repeatability. Once the non-
recurring master costs are met, the replication costs are relatively insignificant and part count, assembly time and touch
labor are greatly reduced, and part quality is much higher. Another feature of the DigiLens process, with major
implications for yield and quality, is the close integration of authoring and fabrication. Reverse ray tracing (from the
eyebox) using DigiLens’ software tools8 can identify which of the millions of ray-grating interactions in the waveguide
contribute to the image seen from the eyebox. This allows the identification of specific regions of a grating that require
index modulation or thickness adjustment to overcome nonuniformities in the waveguide output image.
4. SUMMARY
DigiLens is prototyping a novel Integrated Dual Axis (IDA) waveguide architecture which multiplexes beam expansion
and extraction gratings using a high index modulation holographic liquid crystal and photopolymer material system
optimized for wide angle multiplex grating applications. DigiLens IDA waveguides enable compact wide angle, full
color laser illuminated consumer AR waveguide that overcome wide field-of-view (FoV) color, daylight-compatible
brightness and ultra-compact form factors at an acceptable price. Complementing this compact waveguide design,
DigiLens’s Waveguide Integrated Laser Display (WILD) projector provides a compact image generator combining
despeckling, homogenization, beam shaping, beam splitting and image projection from a Liquid Crystal on Silicon
(LCoS) panel. DigiLens’s waveguides are manufactured using is a unique phase separation holographic photopolymer
used in a precision inkjet coating and holographic phase separation process that can deliver the high volumes and low
costs needed for consumer AR products.
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