Image quality and brightness tradeoffs in augmented reality waveguide displays

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

doi:10.1117/12.3001638

12 March 2024 Image quality and brightness tradeoffs in augmented reality waveguide displays

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

Proceedings Volume 12913, Optical Architectures for Displays and Sensing in Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality (AR, VR, MR) V; 129130Y (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3001638
Event: SPIE AR | VR | MR, 2024, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Waveguide displays are a popular architecture for optical see-through augmented reality (AR) devices because they provide a large eyebox while maintaining a compact form factor. However, they typically suffer from some drawbacks, including low optical efficiency and limited image quality, especially toward the edges of the field of view. Low optical efficiency reduces the brightness seen by the user and makes AR devices difficult to use in brighter environments, particularly outdoors. Poor image quality reduces the amount of detail that can be displayed through an AR device, limiting their range of application to showing large text and low-resolution figures. High efficiency and sharp image quality are difficult to achieve simultaneously in waveguide displays, requiring tradeoffs in the design process and the system specifications. In this work, we investigate how these parameters are impacted by the waveguide's geometry and choices about the diffractive gratings used. We show an example of a starting architecture and how to optimize performance by dividing the in-coupler into multiple zones without altering the overall waveguide geometry. Splitting the in-coupler into multiple zones opens a new dimension for exploring and expanding the waveguide design space.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Jeremy Goodsell, Jannick P. Rolland, Daniel K. Nikolov, and A. Nick Vamivakas "Image quality and brightness tradeoffs in augmented reality waveguide displays", Proc. SPIE 12913, Optical Architectures for Displays and Sensing in Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality (AR, VR, MR) V, 129130Y (12 March 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3001638

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