Lumus Ltd.

An arrangement for forming an image of an eye of a user for tracking eye motion includes a lightguide ( 20 ) containing an obliquely-angled internal reflector ( 21 ), an image sensor ( 10 ) and a lens ( 11 ) associated with the lightguide for focusing light reflected from the eye of the user and reflected by the internal reflector onto the image sensor. A width of the internal reflector, an effective aperture of the lens and deployment of the image sensor are such that light from different areas of the eye and reflected by the internal reflector reaches the lens via one of at least three distinct paths, resulting in discrete non-overlapping image regions on the image sensor. The sub-images derived from these regions of the sensor can be manipulated and combined to form an image of the eye.

A method of fabricating a light-guide optical element having a plurality of partially reflecting surfaces is disclosed. The method includes providing a plurality of transparent plates, each plate polished on two opposite surfaces such that the surfaces are parallel to each other, coating a first of the surfaces of a subset of plates with a first coating, coating a second of the surfaces of the subset of plates with a second coating; bonding together the plurality of transparent plates to form a stack, and cutting the stack along parallel planes obliquely angled to the faces of the transparent plates so as to form the optical element, wherein the first coating is a partially reflective coating have a first set of mechanical properties, and the second coating is selected from the group consisting of: a coating similar to the first coating and a non-reflective coating having a second set of mechanical properties substantially similar to the first set of mechanical properties.

A method for generating an image in a near-eye display may include dividing an image into first and second sub-images, sequentially transmitting the first sub-image and the second sub-image through a channel, extracting light corresponding to the first sub-image in a first polarization and light corresponding to the second sub-image in a second polarization, deflecting a first order of the light in the first polarization in a first direction, and deflecting an opposite order of the light in the second polarization in a opposite direction different from the first direction. The resulting image width corresponding to a wider field of view.

A compact projector for use in a head-mounted display device consists of an illumination section, a relay section, and a numerical aperture expander (NAE). The illumination section includes one or more illumination sources, a scanner, and a focusing lens which converges light onto an image plane. The NAE receives light from the illumination section, expands the average numerical aperture of the light, and transmits the light to the relay section. The relay section includes optical elements which collimate light from the image plane onto an exit pupil. The projector may also be fitted with lateral-axis and/or vertical-axis stops which prevent stray light from passing through the exit pupil.

A light-transmitting substrate is deployed with a first of two major surfaces in facing relation to an eye of a viewer and guides light by internal reflection between the two major surfaces. An optical coupling-out configuration couples image light, that corresponds to a collimated image and that is guided by internal reflection between the two major surfaces, out of the light-transmitting substrate. A first optical coupling configuration collimates light from the eye to produce collimated light, and couples the collimated light into the light-transmitting substrate for guiding by internal reflection. A second optical coupling configuration couples the collimated light out of the light-transmitting substrate toward an optical sensor that senses the coupled-out light. A processing system derives current gaze direction of the eye by processing signals from the optical sensor.

An optical device may include a first and second polarization-selective surfaces, each configured to reflect a first polarization of incident light and transmit a second polarization of incident light orthogonal to the first polarization, the first polarization-selective surface disposed between first and second optical input surfaces at a first angle α relative to an optical axis of the device and the second polarization-selective surface disposed between the first and second optical input surfaces at a second angle β relative to the optical axis.

An LOE has a first region with a first set of facets, and a second region with a second set of facets at a different orientation from the first set. Both sets of facets are located between a set of parallel major external surfaces. An intermediate region between the faceted regions has a diffractive optical aperture expansion configuration. Image illumination introduced into the LOE from an image projector propagates along the LOE, is redirected by the first set of facets to the intermediate region to expand an optical aperture of the image projector in a first dimension, where the image illumination is deflected to the second region by the diffractive optical aperture expansion configuration such that the optical aperture is further expanded in the first dimension. The image illumination is then coupled out of the LOE by the second set of facets, expanding the optical aperture in a second dimension.

An optical system includes (a) a light-guide optical element (LOE) and (b) an image projector. The LOE is formed from transparent material and has at least first and second mutually-parallel major external surfaces for supporting propagation of an image by internal reflection at the first and second major external surfaces. The LOE includes a coupling-out arrangement for coupling out the image towards an eye of the user and a coupling-in arrangement. The image projector includes an image generator for generating an image and an image conjugate generator for generating a conjugate image.

An apparatus includes a waveguide and one or more partially reflective surfaces embedded inside the waveguide, wherein each of the one or more partially reflective surfaces includes a multi-layer coating structure, wherein a first portion of the multi-layer coating structure induces an overall phase shift of light propagating through the first portion of the multi-layer coating structure and wherein a second portion of the multi-layer coating structure is selected to decrease the overall phase shift.

An optical system has a hollow mechanical body having first and second ends. An optical assembly has a plurality of optical components arranged in a stack configuration. Each of the optical components has a set of engagement configurations. For each pair of adjacent optical components in the stack configuration, at least some of the engagement configurations of a first optical component in the pair engage with at least some of the engagement configurations of a second optical component in the pair. Some of the engagement configurations of the optical component at a first end of the stack configuration engage with corresponding engagement configurations of the hollow mechanical body at the first end of the hollow mechanical body to position the other optical components of the stack configuration within the hollow mechanical body. An emissive display device is deployed at the second end of the hollow mechanical body.