CN-122029472-A - Folded 2D extended optical waveguide

Abstract

The optical waveguides include a first waveguide and a second waveguide that face each other (e.g., they are parallel or have an acute angle therebetween). The first waveguide has an aperture configured to receive an input light beam. The first waveguide also has a first set of facets configured to receive an input light beam and to reflect the input light beam at least partially into a first light beam. The first waveguide also has an out-coupling element configured to receive the first light beam and reflect the first light beam out of the first waveguide. The second waveguide has a coupling-in element configured to receive the first light beam and reflect the first light beam toward a second set of facets of the second waveguide configured to at least partially reflect the first light beam as the second light beam and couple the second light beam out of the second waveguide.

Inventors

• Geon eisenfield

Assignees

• 鲁姆斯有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20241108

Priority Date

20231108

Claims (15)

1. 1. An optical waveguide, comprising: a first waveguide, the first waveguide comprising: A pair of parallel first major surfaces; an aperture disposed on one of the first major surfaces and configured to receive an input light beam; A first set of facets disposed between the first major surfaces along a first axis and configured to receive the input light beam and at least partially reflect the input light beam as a first light beam, and A coupling-out element configured to receive the first light beam and reflect the first light beam out of the first waveguide, and A second waveguide, the second waveguide comprising: a pair of parallel second major surfaces, wherein at least one of the second major surfaces faces at least one of the first major surfaces; A coupling-in element configured to receive the first light beam and reflect the first light beam toward a second set of facets, and The second set of facets disposed between the second major surfaces along a second axis and configured to: Receiving the first light beam and at least partially reflecting the first light beam as a second light beam, and The second light beam is coupled out of the second waveguide.
2. 2. The optical waveguide of claim 1, wherein the first and second waveguides are parallel to each other.
3. 3. The optical waveguide of claim 1, wherein the first waveguide is disposed at an acute angle to the second waveguide.
4. 4. The optical waveguide of claim 1, wherein a gap is formed between the first waveguide and the second waveguide.
5. 5. The optical waveguide of claim 4, further comprising a material disposed within the gap and configured to block light transmission between the first waveguide and the second waveguide.
6. 6. The optical waveguide of claim 4, further comprising a prism disposed within the gap and configured to couple the first light beam between the first waveguide and the second waveguide.
7. 7. The optical waveguide of claim 6, wherein the prism is attached to an end portion of the first waveguide and an end portion of the second waveguide.
8. 8. The optical waveguide of claim 4, further comprising a polarizer, lens, prism, full wave plate, half wave plate, or quarter wave plate disposed within the gap proximate the in-coupling element and the out-coupling element.
9. 9. The optical waveguide of claim 1, wherein the out-coupling element comprises a first mirror and the in-coupling element comprises a second mirror.
10. 10. The optical waveguide of claim 1, wherein: the coupling-out element being arranged at a first end portion of the first waveguide and the coupling-in element being arranged at a second end portion of the second waveguide, and The first end portion and the second end portion are disposed adjacent to each other.
11. 11. The optical waveguide of claim 1, further comprising a material disposed adjacent one of the first major surfaces remote from the second waveguide and configured to block light from an external environment from entering the first waveguide.
12. 12. The optical waveguide of claim 11, wherein the material comprises an opaque material.
13. 13. The optical waveguide of claim 1, wherein the waveguide is configured such that a user's line of sight sequentially passes through the second waveguide and the first waveguide.
14. 14. The optical waveguide of claim 1, wherein a surface area of at least one of the first major surfaces is greater than a surface area of at least one of the second major surfaces.
15. 15. An apparatus, comprising: a projector configured to generate an input light beam, and The optical waveguide of claim 1.

Description

Folded 2D extended optical waveguide Cross Reference to Related Applications The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/547,696 filed on 8 of 11 of 2023. The entire disclosure of U.S. provisional application No. 63/547,696 is incorporated herein by this reference. Background The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for presenting information to a user, and more particularly, to an optical system and near-eye display for presenting information to a user. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this section and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section. In a near-eye display, a very wide field of view (FoV) can be achieved by using two light guiding elements (e.g., one for each of the two extended dimensions). Typically, the photoconductive elements are positioned end-to-end, however, such end-to-end arrangements can be cumbersome in the context of head mounted display units such as smart glasses or virtual reality systems. Disclosure of Invention Optical waveguides with folded 2D extensions are described herein. The optical waveguide includes a first waveguide and a second waveguide. The first waveguide has a pair of parallel first major surfaces and an aperture disposed on one of the first major surfaces configured to receive an input light beam. The first waveguide also has a first set of facets disposed between the first major surfaces along the first axis, the first set of facets configured to receive an input light beam and at least partially reflect the input light beam as a first light beam. The first waveguide also has an out-coupling element configured to receive the first light beam and reflect the first light beam out of the first waveguide. The second waveguide has a pair of parallel second major surfaces, wherein at least one of the second major surfaces faces at least one of the first major surfaces. The second waveguide also has a coupling-in element configured to receive the first light beam and reflect the first light beam toward a second set of facets of the second waveguide. The second set of facets is disposed between the second major surfaces along the second axis and is configured to receive the second light beam and at least partially reflect the first light beam as the second light beam and couple the second light beam out of the second waveguide. An apparatus is also described herein. The apparatus includes the optical waveguide discussed above and a projector configured to generate an input beam. The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Drawings Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a system including an optical waveguide with a folded 2D extension according to various examples of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 illustrates an example of an optical waveguide with folded 2D expansion according to various examples of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 illustrates an example perspective view of a first light guide optical element of the light guide of fig. 2, according to various examples of this disclosure. Fig. 4 illustrates a side view of the optical waveguide of fig. 2 according to various examples of the present disclosure. Fig. 5 illustrates an example perspective view of a second light guide optical element of the light guide of fig. 2, according to various examples of this disclosure. Fig. 6 illustrates a front view of the optical waveguide of fig. 2, according to various examples of the present disclosure. Fig. 7 illustrates another example of an optical waveguide with a folded 2D extension in accordance with various examples of the present disclosure. Fig. 8 illustrates another example of an optical waveguide with a folded 2D extension in accordance with various examples of the present disclosure. Fig. 9 illustrates another example of an optical waveguide with a folded 2D extension in accordance with various examples of the present disclosure. Detailed Description In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth, such as specific structures, components, materials, dimensions, processing steps, and techniques, in order to provide an understanding of various embodiments of the present application. However, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that the various embodiments of the application may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures or processing steps have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present application. As will be described in more detail below, wearable devices su