Integrated optical beam steering system
US10802220B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 19, 2019 |
| Grant date | Oct 13, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 19, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/311
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An integrated optical beam steering system is configured in three stages to provide beam steering for image light from an imager (e.g., laser, light emitting diode, or other light source) to downstream elements in a display system such as an exit pupil expander (EPE) in a mixed-reality computing device. The first stage includes a multi-level cascaded array of optical switches that are configurable to spatially route image light over a first dimension of a two-dimensional (2D) field of view (FOV) of the display system. The second waveguiding stage transfers the image light along preformed waveguides to a collimator in the third stage which is configured to collimate the image light along the first dimension of the FOV (e.g., horizontal). The waveguiding and collimating stages may be implemented using lightweight photonic crystal nanostructures.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.