Field of view expansion by image light redirection

Abstract

A near-eye display has an image projector coupled to a lightguide for receiving and propagating image light provided by the image projector, the image light carrying an image to be displayed to a viewer. Field of view of the near-eye display may be expanded by providing a beam redirector downstream of the lightguide for controllably redirecting the image light in coordination with displaying different field of view portions by the image projector. To compensate the redirection of external light by the beam redirector, a second beam redirector may be provided upstream of the first redirector and the lightguide.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to visual display devices and related components, modules, and methods.

BACKGROUND

Visual displays provide information to viewer(s) including still images, video, data, etc. Visual displays have applications in diverse fields including entertainment, education, engineering, science, professional training, advertising, to name just a few examples. Some visual displays, such as TV sets, display images to several users at a time, and some visual display systems, such s near-eye displays (NEDs), are intended for individual users.

An artificial reality system generally includes an NED (e.g., a headset or a pair of glasses) configured to present content to a user. The near-eye display may display virtual objects or combine images of real objects with virtual objects, as in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality (MR) applications. For example, in an AR system, a user may view images of virtual objects (e.g., computer-generated images (CGIs)) superimposed with the surrounding environment by seeing through a “combiner” component. The combiner of a wearable display is typically transparent to external light but includes some light routing optics to direct the display light into the user's field of view.

Human sight has a rather wide overall field of view (FOV). For an AR/VR system to mimic human sight, the operational field of view needs to approach that of human vision. A straightforward approach to achieve the full vision FOV would require wide numerical aperture optics and large pixel counts, increasing size, weight, complicates the processing electronics, and increases power demands of a display. Because a display of HMD or NED is usually worn on the head of a user, a large, bulky, unbalanced, and/or heavy display device with heavy electro-optical modules and heavy battery would be cumbersome and uncomfortable for the user to wear. Consequently, head-mounted display devices can benefit from a compact and efficient configuration enabling FOV expansion up to natural FOV limits.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments will now be described in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a side cross-sectional view of a near-eye display (NED) with a lightguide assembly including a beam redirector of this disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a field of view (FOV) diagram illustrating the principle of FOV expansion by utilizing the beam redirector of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a frontal view of a Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP) liquid crystal (LC) grating usable in the beam redirector of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2B is a magnified schematic view of LC molecules in an LC layer of the PBP LC grating of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is an active embodiment of the PBP LC grating of FIGS. 2A, 2B in OFF state;

FIG. 3B is the active PBP LC grating in ON state;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are side cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of a beam redirector module including a switchable waveplate and a passive PBP LC grating;

FIGS. 4C and 4D are side cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of a beam redirector module including an active PBP LC grating;

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a polarization volume hologram (PVH)/PBP embodiment of the lightguide assembly of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of a geometrical waveguide with a beam redirector module including a binary stack of switchable PBP gratings;

FIG. 7A is a side cross-sectional view of a PVH usable in a lightguide of this disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating optical performance of the PVH of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method of this disclosure for displaying an image to a user;

FIG. 9 is a view of wearable display of this disclosure having a form factor of a pair of eyeglasses; and

FIG. 10 is a three-dimensional view of a head-mounted display (HMD) of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the present teachings are described in conjunction with various embodiments and examples, it is not intended that the present teachings be limited to such embodiments. On the contrary, the present teachings encompass various alternatives and equivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. All statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of this disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.

As used herein, the terms “first”, “second”, and so forth are not intended to imply sequential ordering, but rather are intended to distinguish one element from another, unless explicitly stated. Similarly, sequential ordering of method steps does not imply a sequential order of their execution, unless explicitly stated. In FIG. 1A, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, similar reference numerals denote similar elements.

In accordance with this disclosure, a field of view (FOV) of a near-eye display using a pupil-replicating lightguide may be expanded by providing a beam redirector downstream of the lightguide for controllably redirecting image light out-coupled by the lightguide. Such a configuration allows different FOV portions to be displayed at different moments of time, expanding the overall FOV by time sequencing through different FOV portions.

In accordance with the present disclosure, there is provided a lightguide assembly for a near-eye display. The lightguide assembly comprises a lightguide body for receiving and propagating image light carrying an image in angular domain to be displayed by the near-eye display, and a beam redirector downstream of the lightguide body. The lightguide body includes an out-coupling structure for out-coupling spaced apart portions of the image light. The beam redirector is configured for switchably redirecting the image light portions out-coupled by the out-coupling structure.

In embodiments where the beam redirector comprises a Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP) grating, the latter may be a passive PBP grating, or an active PBP grating comprising a liquid crystal (LC) layer switchable by application of electric field to the LC layer. The beam redirector may further include a switchable polarization rotator upstream of the PBP grating for switching polarization of the image light portions between two mutually orthogonal polarization states. The switchable polarization rotator may include a switchable waveplate, which may be based on liquid crystals. In some embodiments, the out-coupling grating may include an out-coupling grating, e.g. a polarization volume hologram (PVH) grating, and/or a plurality of slanted partial bulk reflectors.

In accordance with the present disclosure, there is provided a near-eye display (NED) comprising an image projector for providing first and second portions of an image in angular domain to be displayed by the near-eye display, and a lightguide assembly described above. The NED may further include a controller operably coupled to the image projector and the beam redirector. The controller may be configured to operate as follows. During a first time interval, the controller may cause the image projector to display the first portion of the image in angular domain, and cause the first beam redirector to redirect the image light portions by a first angle. During a second, subsequent time interval, the controller may cause the image projector to display the second portion of the image in angular domain, and cause the first beam redirector to redirect the image light portions by a second, different angle.

In embodiments where the first image portion corresponds to a first field of view (FOV) portion of the image, and the second image portion corresponds to a second, adjacent FOV portion of the image, a difference between the first and second angles of the first beam redirector may be such that the first and second FOV portions partially overlap with one another. In some embodiments, the NED may further include an additional beam redirector in a path of external light upstream of the lightguide assembly, for controllably redirecting the external light to offset a redirection of the external light by the first beam redirector.

The controller may be configured to do the following. During a first time interval, the controller may cause the image projector to display the first portion of the image in angular domain and cause the first beam redirector to redirect the image light portions by a first angle. During a second, subsequent time interval, the controller may cause the image projector to display the second portion of the image in angular domain and cause the first beam redirector to redirect the image light portions by a second, different angle. The controller may be configured to cause the additional (i.e. the second) beam redirector offset the redirection of the external light by the first beam redirector during both the first and the second time intervals.

In accordance with the present disclosure, there is further provided a method for displaying an image to a user. The method comprises the following: during a first time interval, causing an image projector to emit image light carrying a first portion of the image, and causing a first beam redirector to redirect the image light by a first angle; and during a second, subsequent time interval, causing the image projector to emit image light carrying a second, different portion of the image, and causing the first beam redirector to redirect the image light by a second, different angle. The first image portion may correspond to a first field of view (FOV) portion of the image, and the second image portion may correspond to a second, adjacent FOV portion of the image. A difference between the first and second angles of the first beam redirector may be selected such that the first and second FOV portions partially overlap with one another. The method may further include using a second beam redirector upstream in a path of external light w.r.t. the first beam redirector for controllably redirecting the external light to offset a redirection of the external light by the first beam redirector, thereby avoiding splitting of the outside imagery observed through the near-eye display (NED).

Referring now to FIG. 1A, an NED 170 includes a lightguide assembly 100 optically coupled to an image projector 180. The lightguide assembly 100 includes a lightguide body 102, e.g. a slab or a plate of transparent material including glass, plastic, metal oxide, inorganic crystal, etc. The lightguide body 102 may be configured to receive image light 108 from the image projector 180. The image light 108 carries an image in angular domain, i.e. an image where individual pixels are represented by corresponding ray angles, in contradistinction e.g. to an image in linear domain where individual pixels (i.e. elements of the image being displayed) are represented by corresponding ray coordinates.

The image light 108 is shown propagating in a straight line for simplicity and generality. In some implementations, the lightguide body 102 may propagate the image light 108 by a series of zigzag reflections from its outer surfaces. The lightguide body 102 has an out-coupling structure 104 for out-coupling spaced apart portions 106 of image light 108 propagating within the lightguide body 102. The portions 106 carry an image in angular domain.

A beam redirector 110 is disposed downstream of the lightguide body 102. The beam redirector 110 switchably redirects the image light portions 106, i.e. deflects all the image light portions 106 by one of a set of pre-defined switchable angles. By having the image projector 180 display different FOV portions in a time-sequential manner, the overall FOV of an image conveyed by the image light 108 propagating in the lightguide assembly 100 may be considerably expanded.

For example, during a first time interval, the image light 108 may carry a first FOV portion, or in other words a first portion of the image in angular domain, and the beam redirector 110 may redirect the image light portions 106 by an angle −α, as illustrated with dashed lines 111. During a second, subsequent time interval, the image light 108 may carry a second FOV portion, e.g. an adjacent FOV portion, and the beam redirector 110 may redirect the image light portions 106 by an angle +α, as illustrated with dotted lines 112. In this manner, the overall FOV may be expanded by the angle of 2α. The required coordination of operation of the image projector 180 and the beam redirector 110 may be provided by a controller 190 operably coupled to both and configured to perform the above steps during the first and second time intervals.

The first and second FOV portions may have overlap between them, to avoid gaps in the overall FOV, or in other words the entire image in angular domain, carried by the image light 108. This is illustrated in FIG. 1B, which shows a first FOV portion 121 partially overlapping with a second FOV portion 122, resulting in an overall FOV 120 that is almost twice larger than any of the individual first 121 or second 122 FOV portions. Such a configuration enables doubling, and more generally expanding multiple times, an overall FOV without increasing the complexity of the projector 180 and the angular bandwidth of the lightguide body 102, albeit at a cost of decreasing the overall frame rate. The image projector 180 may be based on a microdisplay, and/or a 1D or 2D beam scanner scanning a collimated light beam in one or two dimensions.

For augmented reality (AR) and similar applications where the external world remains at least partially visible to the NED wearer, the lightguide assembly 100/NED 170 may further include a second, matching beam redirector 110′ on the opposite side of the lightguide body 102, i.e. on the distal or “world” side of the lightguide body 102. The purpose of the matching beam redirector 110′ is to compensate or offset the shift that the beam redirector 110 would otherwise impose on the outside world view, causing the outside world appearance to “double” or even split in multiple overlapping images. The controller 190 may be configured to operate both beam redirectors 110, 110′ in a coordinated manner, such that one always compensates the other.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, the beam redirecting module 110 may be based on one or more Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP) grating(s), e.g. a PBP liquid crystal (LC) grating(s). Turning to FIG. 2A, a PBP LC grating 200 includes LC molecules 202 in a thin LC layer 204. The LC molecules 202 are disposed in XY plane at a varying in-plane orientation, i.e. rotation about Z-axis, depending on the X coordinate. The orientation angle ϕ(x) of the LC molecules 202 in the PBP LC grating 200 is given byϕ(x)=πx/T=πx sin θ/λ_o  (1)

where T is pitch of the grating 200, and θ is a diffraction angle given byθ=sin⁻¹(λ_o/T)  (2)

The azimuthal angle ϕ varies continuously across the surface of an LC layer 204 as illustrated in FIG. 2B, with a constant period T. The optical phase delay P in the PBP LC grating 200 of FIG. 2A is due to the PBP effect, which is expressed rather simply as P(x)=2ϕ(x) at an optical retardation R of the LC layer 204 of λ₀/2, i.e. at the at the optical retardation R of half a wavelength. The accumulated phase delay P(r) due to the PBP effect isP(x)=2ϕ(x)=2πx sin θ/λ_o  (3)

when R=λ₀/2.

The PBP LC grating 200 may be a passive device or an active device. The passive version of the PBP LC grating 200 may be preceded by an active waveplate or polarization rotator for switching polarization of the impinging light. In the active PBP LC device, the orientation of the LC molecules may be controlled by an electric field applied to the LC layer 204. In a normal (undriven) state, the LC molecules 202 orientation is determined by an alignment layer, which has been illuminated with polarized light, typically UV light, such that the LC molecules 202 are aligned in accordance with the polarization direction of the UV light used to cure the alignment layer. The pattern of the UV light, used to obtain the required spatial distribution of polarization, can be generated by employing optical interference, for example. In the driven state, the LC molecules 202 are oriented almost perpendicular to Z axis.

The operation of an active PBP LC device is illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Referring first to FIG. 3A, LC molecules 300 are aligned in-plane, that is in XY-plane as shown, to provide a required PBP effect such as redirecting or re-focusing light. When the electric field is applied across the LC layer, the LC molecules 300 of a positive LC material will align preferably along the electric field lines, causing the molecules to orient out-of-plane or along Z-axis as shown in FIG. 3B, thereby erasing or at least considerably reducing the PBP effect. It is to be noted that a negative LC material, in which LC molecules orient preferably perpendicularly to the electric field lines, may also be used, in which case the action of the applied electric field is reversed.

Optical performance of a beam redirector based on PBP LC gratings is illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4D. FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the operation of a beam redirector module based on a switchable half-wave plate or polarization rotator 410, e.g. an LC-based switchable half-wave plate or polarization rotator based on twisted nematic (TN) or mixed twisted nematic (MTN) LC cells having a twist angle of other than 90 degrees, and a passive PBP LC grating 415 downstream of the switchable half-wave plate 410. The switchable polarization rotator 410 switches polarization of the impinging light between two mutually orthogonal polarizations. When, for example, the switchable polarization rotator 410 is in an OFF state, a light beam 400 impinging onto the PBP LC grating 415 is right-circular polarized (RCP). The passive PBP LC grating 415 diffracts the RCP light beam 400 upwards, as illustrated. When the switchable polarization rotator 410 is in an ON state, a light beam 400 impinging onto the PBP LC grating 415 is left-circular polarized (LCP). The passive PBP LC grating 415 diffracts the RCP light beam 400 downwards. Thus, the beam redirecting module of FIG. 4A has a switchable beam redirection property, i.e. the light beam 400 may be switched between two pre-defined redirection angles.

Optical performance of a beam redirector module based on active PBP LC grating(s) is illustrated in FIGS. 4C and 4D. In FIG. 4C, an active PBP LC grating 420 is in OFF state, such that its LC molecules are disposed predominantly in-plane. When an incoming light beam 400 is left-circular polarized (LCP), the active PBP LC grating 420 redirects the light beam 400 upwards, which becomes right-circular polarized (RCP). The RCP deflected light beam 400 is shown with solid lines. When an incoming optical beam 400 is right-circular polarized (RCP), the active PBP LC grating 420 redirects the light beam 400 downwards, which becomes left-circular polarized (LCP). The LCP deflected beam 400 is shown with dashed lines. Applying a voltage to the active PBP LC grating 420 reorients the LC molecules as shown in FIG. 4D. As a result, the light beam 400 retains its original direction, whether it is LCP or RCP. Thus, the active PBP LC grating 420 has a switchable beam steering or redirection property.

In some embodiments, active PBP LC gratings may be combined with switchable waveplates and/or passive PBP LC gratings. Furthermore, PBP grating based redirectors may be assembled in binary stacks enabling several switchable beam deflection angles. By way of non-limiting examples, a stack of two PBP gratings may provide 4 switching angles, a stack of three PBP gratings may provide 8 switching angles, and so on. PVH gratings will be considered further below with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a lightguide assembly 500 is similar to the lightguide assembly 100 of FIG. 1A, and includes similar elements. The lightguide assembly 500 of FIG. 5 includes a lightguide body 502 having an in-coupling grating 503 for in-coupling image light 508, e.g. a scanning light beam from a 2D beam scanner 580, into the lightguide body 502. The lightguide body 502 further includes an out-coupling grating, in this example a polarization volume hologram (PVH) grating 504, for out-coupling portions 506 of the image light 508 from the lightguide body 102. The lightguide assembly 500 and the 2D beam scanner 580 are components of a near-eye display (NED) 570. The NED 570 may further include a controller 590 that operates the beam scanners/image projectors and the beam redirector(s) to display different FOV portions in a time-sequential manner.

In operation, the PVH grating 504 out-couples only light of one handedness of polarization, in this example right-circular polarized (RCP) image light portions 506. The lightguide assembly 500 further includes a beam redirector module 510 disposed downstream of the lightguide body 502 for controllably redirecting the image light portions 506. In the embodiment shown, the beam redirector module 510 includes a switchable half-wave plate (sHWP) 511 that switches the polarization of the image light portions 506 between RCP light and an opposite polarization, left circular polarized (LCP). The beam redirector module 510 further includes a PBP grating 512 that redirects the image light portions 506 to the left for LCP light and to the right for RCP light, as illustrated, enabling the switching of FOV portions and thereby expanding the overall FOV as explained above with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B. In some embodiments, the sHWP 511 may include a switchable LC cell e.g. a TN or MTN cell for switching between LCP and RCP, and a retarder stack for improving the broadband/off-axis performance of polarization switching.

For augmented reality (AR) and similar applications of the NED 570 where the external world remains at least partially visible to the user of a NED 570, the lightguide assembly 500 may include a matching beam redirector 510′ on the opposite side of the lightguide body 502, i.e. on the distal or “world” side of the lightguide body 502. The purpose of the matching beam redirector 510′ is to compensate, offset, or undo the shift that the beam redirector 110 would otherwise impose on external light 508′, causing the outside scenery appearance to “double”. In the embodiment shown, the matching beam redirector 510′ includes a matching PBP grating 512′ that splits the external light into LCP and PRC light propagating at opposed angles to the impinging external light 508′ direction as illustrated. The matching PBP grating 512′ is followed by a matching switchable half-wave plate (sHWP) 511′ that switches the polarization of the external light 508′ from RCP to LCP and vice versa, in sync with the (sHWP) 511 disposed on the inner (proximal) side of the waveguide body 503. The controller 590 may be operably coupled to the 2D scanner 580 and both redirector modules 510, 510′ and configured to cause the matching beam redirector 510′ to offset the redirection of the external light 508′ by the main beam redirector 510 at any moment of time.

Turning to FIG. 6, a lightguide assembly 600 is similar to the lightguide assembly 100 of FIG. 1A, and includes similar elements. The lightguide assembly 600 of FIG. 6 includes a geometrical waveguide 602 coupled to a beam redirector module 610. The geometrical waveguide 602 has an in-coupling region 603 for in-coupling image light 608 to propagate in the geometrical waveguide 602 by a series of zigzag reflections, typically total internal reflections, from its opposed surfaces 641 and 642. The geometrical waveguide 602 further includes a plurality of parallel translucent slanted bulk reflectors 604 for out-coupling portions 606 of the image light 608 to propagate through the beam redirector module 610. In the embodiment shown, the beam redirector module 610 includes a stack of redirectors 650, each of which being capable of redirecting the image light portions 606 by one of two pre-determined angles. The angles of different redirectors 650 may be in a binary relationship to one another, e.g. the angle of each next redirector 650 may be twice the angle of previous, enabling redirection by a plurality of switchable angles. Binary redirectors may be used in any of the lightguide assemblies considered herein, not only in those including geometrical waveguides. In the most basic configuration, the beam redirector module 610 may include only one redirector switching between two pre-defined angles of deflection, which allows close to 2×FOV expansion. The parallel slanted bulk reflectors 604 may be partial bulk reflectors based e.g. on dielectric coatings.

Non-limiting examples of PVH gratings usable in lightguide assemblies of this disclosure will now be presented. Referring to FIG. 7A, a PVH grating 700 may be used as the out-coupling structure 104 of FIG. 1A and the out-coupling structure 504 of FIG. 5. The PVH grating 700 of FIG. 7A includes an LC layer 704 bound by opposed top 705 and bottom 706 parallel surfaces. The LC layer 704 may include an LC fluid containing rod-like LC molecules 707 with positive dielectric anisotropy, i.e. nematic LC molecules. A chiral dopant may be added to the LC fluid, causing the LC molecules in the LC fluid to self-organize into a periodic helical configuration including helical structures 708 extending between the top 705 and bottom 706 parallel surfaces of the LC layer 704. Such a configuration of the LC molecules 707, termed herein a cholesteric configuration, includes a plurality of helical periods p, e.g. at least two, at least five, at least ten, at least twenty, or at least fifty helical periods p between the top 705 and bottom 706 parallel surfaces of the LC layer 704.

Boundary LC molecules 707b at the top surface 705 of the LC layer 704 may be oriented at an angle to the top surface 705. The boundary LC molecules 707b may have a spatially varying azimuthal angle, e.g. linearly varying along X-axis parallel to the top surface 705, as shown in FIG. 7A. To that end, an alignment layer 712 may be provided at the top surface 705 of the LC layer 704. The alignment layer 712 may be configured to provide the desired orientation pattern of the boundary LC molecules 707b, such as the linear dependence of the azimuthal angle on the X-coordinate. A pattern of spatially varying polarization directions of the UV light may be selected to match a desired orientation pattern of the boundary LC molecules 707b at the top surface 705 and/or the bottom surface 706 of the LC layer 704. When the alignment layer 712 is coated with the cholesteric LC fluid, the boundary LC molecules 707b are oriented along the photopolymerized chains of the alignment layer 712, thus adopting the desired surface orientation pattern. Adjacent LC molecules adopt helical patterns extending from the top 705 to the bottom 706 surfaces of the LC layer 704, as shown.

The boundary LC molecules 707b define relative phases of the helical structures 708 having the helical period p. The helical structures 708 form a volume grating comprising helical fringes 714 tilted at an angle ϕ, as shown in FIG. 7A. The steepness of the tilt angle ϕ depends on the rate of variation of the azimuthal angle of the boundary LC molecules 707b at the top surface 705 and p. Thus, the tilt angle ϕ is determined by the surface alignment pattern of the boundary LC molecules 707b at the alignment layer 712. The volume grating has a period Λ_x along X-axis and Λ_y along Y-axis. In some embodiments, the periodic helical structures 708 of the LC molecules 707 may be polymer-stabilized by mixing in a stabilizing polymer into the LC fluid, and curing (polymerizing) the stabilizing polymer.

The helical nature of the fringes 714 of the volume grating makes the PVH grating 700 preferably responsive to light of polarization having one particular handedness, e.g. left- or right-circular polarization, while being substantially non-responsive to light of the opposite handedness of polarization. Thus, the helical fringes 714 make the PVH grating 700 polarization-selective, causing the PVH grating 700 to diffract light of only one handedness of circular polarization. This is illustrated in FIG. 7B, which shows a light beam 720 impinging onto the PVH grating 700. The light beam 720 includes a left circular polarized (LCP) beam component 721 and a right circular polarized (RCP) beam component 722. The LCP beam component 721 propagates through the PVH grating 700 substantially without diffraction. Herein, the term “substantially without diffraction” means that, even though an insignificant portion of the beam (the LCP beam component 721 in this case) might diffract, the portion of the diffracted light energy is so small that it does not impact the intended performance of the PVH grating 700. The RCP beam component 722 of the light beam 720 undergoes diffraction, producing a diffracted beam 722′.

The polarization selectivity of the PVH grating 700 results from the effective refractive index of the grating being dependent on the relationship between the handedness, or chirality, of the impinging light beam and the handedness, or chirality, of the grating fringes 714. Changing the handedness of the impinging light may be used to switch the performance of the PVH grating 700. The PVH grating 700 may also be made tunable by applying voltage to the LC layer 704, which distorts or erases the above-described helical structure. It is further noted that sensitivity of the PVH 700 to right circular polarized light in particular is only meant as an illustrative example. When the handedness of the helical fringes 714 is reversed, the PVH 700 may be made sensitive to left circular polarized light. Thus, the operation of the PVH 700 may be controlled by controlling the polarization state of the impinging light beam 720. Furthermore, in some embodiments the PVH 700 may be made tunable by application of electric field across the LC layer 704, which erases the periodic helical structures 708.

Turning to FIG. 8 with further reference to FIG. 1A, a method 800 for displaying an image to a user includes causing an image projector, such as the image projector 180 of the NED 170 of FIG. 1A, to emit (FIG. 8; 802) image light carrying a first portion of the image, and causing a first beam redirector such as the beam redirector 110 (FIG. 1A) to redirect (804) the image light by a first angle, e.g. the angle −α in FIG. 1A. The emission 802 and redirection 804 of the image light carrying the first portion of the image is performed during a first time interval. The method 800 further includes causing the image projector to emit (806) image light carrying a second, different portion of the image, and causing the first beam redirector to redirect (808) the image light by a second, different angle, e.g. the angle +α in FIG. 1A. The emission 806 and redirection 808 of the image light carrying the second portion of the image is performed during a second time interval after the first time interval. The second, subsequent time interval may immediately follow the first time interval, or may be separated from the first time interval by an idle period if required. One of the first or second angles may be a zero angle.

Still referring to FIG. 8 with further reference now to FIG. 1B, the first image portion may correspond to a first FOV portion of the image, e.g. the first FOV portion 121 in FIG. 1B, and the second image portion may correspond to a second FOV portion of the image, e.g. the second FOV portion 122 in FIG. 1B. The difference between the first and second angles of the first beam redirector may be such that the first and second FOV portions partially overlap with one another, as illustrated in, and explained with reference to, FIG. 1B. Since the image being displayed to the user is in angular domain, the FOV portions 121, 122 of the overall FOV 120 are the portions of the displayed image.

In some embodiments, the method 800 may further include using a second beam redirector upstream in a path of external light w.r.t. the first beam redirector such as, for example, the matching beam redirector 110′ of FIG. 1A, for controllably redirecting (810) the external light so as to offset a redirection of the external light by the first beam redirector. The second beam redirector is used during both time intervals. The method 800 may be implemented in the controller 190 of the NED 170. The first angle or the second angle, but not both, may be zero. The first and second angles are different from one another.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an augmented reality (AR) NED 900 may include any of the lightguide assemblies disclosed herein for expanding FOV of artificially generated images. The AR near-eye display 900 of FIG. 9 includes a frame 901 supporting, for each eye: a light engine or image projector 930 for providing an image light beam carrying an image in angular domain, a pupil-replicating lightguide 906 including any of the lightguide assemblies disclosed herein, for providing multiple offset portions of the image light beam to spread the image in angular domain across an eyebox 912, and a plurality of eyebox illuminators 910, shown as black dots, spread around a clear aperture of the pupil-replicating lightguide 906 on a surface that faces the eyebox 912. An eye-tracking camera 904 may be provided for each eyebox 912.

The purpose of the eye-tracking cameras 904 is to determine position and/or orientation of both eyes of the user. The eyebox illuminators 910 illuminate the eyes at the corresponding eyeboxes 912, allowing the eye-tracking cameras 904 to obtain the images of the eyes, as well as to provide reference reflections i.e. glints. The glints may function as reference points in the captured eye image, facilitating the eye gazing direction determination by determining position of the eye pupil images relative to the glint positions. To avoid distracting the user with the light of the eyebox illuminators 910, the latter may be made to emit light invisible to the user. For example, infrared light may be used to illuminate the eyeboxes 912.

Turning to FIG. 10, an HMD 1000 is an example of an AR/VR wearable display system which encloses the user's face, for a greater degree of immersion into the AR/VR environment. The HMD 1000 may generate the entirely virtual 3D imagery. The HMD 1000 may include a front body 1002 and a band 1004 that can be secured around the user's head. The front body 1002 is configured for placement in front of eyes of a user in a reliable and comfortable manner. A display system 1080 may be disposed in the front body 1002 for presenting AR/VR imagery to the user. The display system 1080 may include any of lightguide assemblies disclosed herein. Sides 1006 of the front body 1002 may be opaque or transparent.

In some embodiments, the front body 1002 includes locators 1008 and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 1010 for tracking acceleration of the HMD 1000, and position sensors 1012 for tracking position of the HMD 1000. The IMU 1010 is an electronic device that generates data indicating a position of the HMD 1000 based on measurement signals received from one or more of position sensors 1012, which generate one or more measurement signals in response to motion of the HMD 1000. Examples of position sensors 1012 include: one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, one or more magnetometers, another suitable type of sensor that detects motion, a type of sensor used for error correction of the IMU 1010, or some combination thereof. The position sensors 1012 may be located external to the IMU 1010, internal to the IMU 1010, or some combination thereof.

The locators 1008 are traced by an external imaging device of a virtual reality system, such that the virtual reality system can track the location and orientation of the entire HMD 1000. Information generated by the IMU 1010 and the position sensors 1012 may be compared with the position and orientation obtained by tracking the locators 1008, for improved tracking accuracy of position and orientation of the HMD 1000. Accurate position and orientation is important for presenting appropriate virtual scenery to the user as the latter moves and turns in 3D space.

The HMD 1000 may further include a depth camera assembly (DCA) 1011, which captures data describing depth information of a local area surrounding some or all of the HMD 1000. The depth information may be compared with the information from the IMU 1010, for better accuracy of determination of position and orientation of the HMD 1000 in 3D space.

The HMD 1000 may further include an eye tracking system 1014 for determining orientation and position of user's eyes in real time. The obtained position and orientation of the eyes also allows the HMD 1000 to determine the gaze direction of the user and to adjust the image generated by the display system 1080 accordingly. The determined gaze direction and vergence angle may be used to adjust the display system 1080 to reduce the vergence-accommodation conflict. The direction and vergence may also be used for displays' exit pupil steering as disclosed herein. Furthermore, the determined vergence and gaze angles may be used for interaction with the user, highlighting objects, bringing objects to the foreground, creating additional objects or pointers, etc. An audio system may also be provided including e.g. a set of small speakers built into the front body 1002.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may include, or be implemented in conjunction with, an artificial reality system. An artificial reality system adjusts sensory information about outside world obtained through the senses such as visual information, audio, touch (somatosensation) information, acceleration, balance, etc., in some manner before presentation to a user. By way of non-limiting examples, artificial reality may include virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), hybrid reality, or some combination and/or derivatives thereof. Artificial reality content may include entirely generated content or generated content combined with captured (e.g., real-world) content. The artificial reality content may include video, audio, somatic or haptic feedback, or some combination thereof. Any of this content may be presented in a single channel or in multiple channels, such as in a stereo video that produces a three-dimensional effect to the viewer. Furthermore, in some embodiments, artificial reality may also be associated with applications, products, accessories, services, or some combination thereof, that are used to, for example, create content in artificial reality and/or are otherwise used in (e.g., perform activities in) artificial reality. The artificial reality system that provides the artificial reality content may be implemented on various platforms, including a wearable display such as an HMD connected to a host computer system, a standalone HMD, a near-eye display having a form factor of eyeglasses, a mobile device or computing system, or any other hardware platform capable of providing artificial reality content to one or more viewers.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, other various embodiments and modifications, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, although the present disclosure has been described herein in the context of a particular implementation in a particular environment for a particular purpose, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present disclosure may be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of the present disclosure as described herein.

Claims

1. A lightguide assembly for a near-eye display, the lightguide assembly comprising: a lightguide body for receiving and propagating image light carrying an image in angular domain to be displayed by the near-eye display, the lightguide body comprising an out-coupling structure for out-coupling spaced apart portions of the image light; anda beam redirector downstream of the lightguide body, for switchably redirecting the image light portions out-coupled by the out-coupling structure,wherein the beam redirector includes a stack of two or more redirectors, each redirector of the stack being capable of redirecting the image light at different, specified angles relative to the other redirectors in the stack, such that the combined stack of redirectors enables redirection of the image light in a plurality of different, switchable angles.

2. The lightguide assembly of claim 1, wherein the beam redirector comprises a Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP) grating.

3. The lightguide assembly of claim 2, wherein the PBP grating is an active PBP grating comprising a liquid crystal (LC) layer switchable by application of electric field thereto.

4. The lightguide assembly of claim 2, wherein the beam redirector further comprises a switchable polarization rotator upstream of the PBP grating for switching polarization of the image light portions between two mutually orthogonal polarization states.

5. The lightguide assembly of claim 4, wherein the switchable polarization rotator comprises a switchable waveplate.

6. The lightguide assembly of claim 5, wherein the switchable waveplate comprises liquid crystals.

7. The lightguide assembly of claim 1, wherein the out-coupling structure comprises an out-coupling grating.

8. The lightguide assembly of claim 7, wherein the out-coupling grating comprises a polarization volume hologram (PVH) grating.

9. The lightguide assembly of claim 1, wherein the out-coupling structure comprises a plurality of slanted partial bulk reflectors.

10. A near-eye display (NED) comprising: an image projector for providing first and second portions of an image in angular domain to be displayed by the near-eye display; anda lightguide assembly downstream of the image projector, the lightguide assembly comprising:a lightguide body for receiving and propagating image light carrying an image in angular domain to be displayed by the near-eye display, the lightguide body comprising an out-coupling structure for out-coupling spaced apart portions of the image light; anda first beam redirector downstream of the lightguide body, for switchably redirecting the image light portions out-coupled by the out-coupling structure,wherein the first beam redirector includes a stack of two or more redirectors, each redirector of the stack being capable of redirecting the image light at different, specified angles relative to the other redirectors in the stack, such that the combined stack of redirectors enables redirection of the image light in a plurality of different, switchable angles.

11. The NED of claim 10, wherein the first beam redirector comprises a Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP) grating.

12. The NED of claim 11, wherein the PBP grating is an active PBP grating comprising a liquid crystal (LC) layer switchable by application of electric field thereto.

13. The NED of claim 11, wherein the first beam redirector further comprises a switchable polarization rotator upstream of the PBP grating for switching polarization of the image light portions between two mutually orthogonal polarization states.

14. The NED of claim 10, further comprising a controller operably coupled to the image projector and the first beam redirector and configured to: during a first time interval, causing the image projector to display the first portion of the image in angular domain and causing the first beam redirector to redirect the image light portions by a first angle; andduring a second, subsequent time interval, causing the image projector to display the second portion of the image in angular domain and causing the first beam redirector to redirect the image light portions by a second, different angle.

15. The NED of claim 14, wherein: the first image portion corresponds to a first field of view (FOV) portion of the image;the second image portion corresponds to a second, adjacent FOV portion of the image; anda difference between the first and second angles of the first beam redirector is such that the first and second FOV portions partially overlap with one another.

16. The NED of claim 10, further comprising a second beam redirector in a path of external light upstream of the lightguide assembly, for controllably redirecting the external light to offset a redirection of the external light by the first beam redirector.

17. The NED of claim 16, further comprising a controller operably coupled to the image projector and the first and second beam redirectors, and configured to: during a first time interval, causing the image projector to display the first portion of the image in angular domain and causing the first beam redirector to redirect the image light portions by a first angle; andduring a second, subsequent time interval, causing the image projector to display the second portion of the image in angular domain and causing the first beam redirector to redirect the image light portions by a second, different angle;wherein the controller is configured to cause the second beam redirector offset the redirection of the external light by the first beam redirector during both the first and second time intervals.

18. A method for displaying an image to a user, the method comprising: during a first time interval, causing an image projector to emit image light carrying a first portion of the image, and causing a first beam redirector to redirect the image light by a first angle, wherein the first beam redirector includes a stack of two or more redirectors, each redirector of the stack being capable of redirecting the image light at different, specified angles relative to the other redirectors in the stack, such that the combined stack of redirectors enables redirection of the image light in a plurality of different, switchable angles; andduring a second, subsequent time interval, causing the image projector to emit image light carrying a second, different portion of the image, and causing the first beam redirector to redirect the image light by a second, different angle.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein: the first image portion corresponds to a first field of view (FOV) portion of the image;the second image portion corresponds to a second, adjacent FOV portion of the image; anda difference between the first and second angles of the first beam redirector is such that the first and second FOV portions partially overlap with one another.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising using a second beam redirector upstream in a path of external light with respect to the first beam redirector for controllably redirecting the external light to offset a redirection of the external light by the first beam redirector.