Patent · US Expired

Wide spectral bandwidth virtual image display optical system

US5436763A · kind A · utility

93Cited by
8References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 5, 1994
Grant dateJul 25, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 5, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B2027/0118
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A virtual image display optical system. The system includes an image source, a combiner, and a relay group. The relay group is a catatrioptic relay group that includes a reflective optical element, and a refractive lens group that includes at least one doublet and a diffractive lens. For some applications, the catatrioptric relay group may be replaced by a hybrid refractive-diffractive relay group, thus eliminating the reflective element. The diffractive optical element of the hybrid optical element is encoded on one side of a lens. The hybrid optical element forms a refractive/diffractive achromat to provide for primary chromatic aberration correction. The refractive lens group is also an achromat to provide for chromatic aberration correction. Power distribution between the hybrid optical element and the refractive lens group is such that secondary chromatic aberration of the refractive lens group is balanced out by the secondary chromatic aberration of the hybrid optical element. The diffractive optical element is designed using higher order wavefront correction terms encoded on one side to reduce spherochromatism and secondary spherochromatism of the relay group. One lens may h…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.