Efficient all-dielectric metasurface in-coupler for waveguide-based near-eye display

Pei Xiong; Jeremy Goodsell; Daniel K. Nikolov; Jannick P. Rolland; A. Nick Vamivakas

doi:10.1117/12.2646494

16 March 2023 Efficient all-dielectric metasurface in-coupler for waveguide-based near-eye display

Pei Xiong, Jeremy Goodsell, Daniel K. Nikolov, Jannick P. Rolland, A. Nick Vamivakas

Proceedings Volume 12449, Optical Architectures for Displays and Sensing in Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality (AR, VR, MR) IV; 124490Y (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2646494
Event: SPIE AR | VR | MR, 2023, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The creation of new see-through near-eye displays (NEDs) architectures is a topic of intense research focus. A fundamental problem that each design must address is the field of view (FOV) and eyebox of NEDs are limited by etendue conservation for a fixed display optics size. Waveguide architecture provides the solution to increasing the eyebox in NEDs without increasing the optics size through exit pupil expansion. Brightness and uniformity are two key features of waveguide architecture. In this work, we focus on the brightness of the waveguide since the image uniformity can be compensated by the display engine. We show that the geometry of the waveguide sets a fundamental limit on the in-coupling efficiency for a given FOV. This limit can be used as a tool for waveguide designers to benchmark the in-coupling efficiency of their incoupler gratings. With this derived limit, we designed and optimized a metasurface-based grating (metagrating) and a surface relief grating (SRG) as in-couplers. The diffractive efficiencies of the two types of in-couplers were then compared to the theoretical efficiency limit. The metagrating's 28% efficiency surpasses the SRG's 20% efficiency and nearly matches the geometry-based limit of 29% due to the superior angular response control of metasurfaces compared to SRGs. This work provides a new understanding of the brightness efficiency limit of waveguide-based combiners and paves a novel path toward implementing metasurfaces in efficient waveguide AR displays.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Pei Xiong, Jeremy Goodsell, Daniel K. Nikolov, Jannick P. Rolland, and A. Nick Vamivakas "Efficient all-dielectric metasurface in-coupler for waveguide-based near-eye display", Proc. SPIE 12449, Optical Architectures for Displays and Sensing in Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality (AR, VR, MR) IV, 124490Y (16 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2646494

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available