Design, analysis and optimization of a waveguide-type near-eye display using a pin-mirror array and a concaved reflector

Waveguides have become one of the most promising optical combiners for see through near-eye displays due to the thickness, weight, and transmittance. In this study, we propose a waveguide-type near-eye display using a pin-mirror array and a concaved reflector with a compact outlook, optimized image uniformity and stray light. Issues have been discussed in detail, which include field of view (FOV), eye-box, resolution, depth of field (DOF), display uniformity and stray light artifacts. It can be shown that the DOF can be extended (when compared with traditional waveguide-type near-eye displays) to alleviate the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC) problem, and the uniformity & stray light can be improved with an optimal structure. Moreover, reflective surfaces have been introduced as the input and output coupling with a compact outlook, an easy-processing structure and the achromatic performance. A prototype based on the proposed method have been successfully developed, and virtual images with an extended DOF can be shown along with the real-world. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

In this study, a waveguide-type near-eye display using a pin-mirror array and a concaved reflector is proposed for improved image uniformity and stray light. Various factors such as field of view, resolution, and depth of field are discussed in detail. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed display can extend the depth of field and enhance the overall image quality.