Holographic pancake optics for thin and lightweight optical see-through augmented reality
Abstract
Holographic pancake optics have been designed and fabricated in eyewear display
optics literature dating back to 1985, however, a see-through pancake optic solution has not
been demonstrated to date. The key contribution here is the first full-color volume holographic
pancake optic in an optical see-through configuration for applications in mobile augmented reality.
Specifically, the full-color volume holographic pancake is combined with a flat lightguide in
order to achieve the optical see-through property. The fabricated hardware optics has a measured
field of view of 29 degrees (horizontal) by 12 degrees (vertical) and a measured large eyebox
that allows a ±10 mm horizontal motion and ∼±3 mm vertical motion for a 4 mm diameter
pupil. The measured modulation transfer function (average orientation) is 10% contrast at 10
lp/deg. Three holograms were characterized with respect to their diffraction efficiency, angular
bandwidth, focal length, haze, and thickness parameters. The phase function in the reflection
mode hologram implements a spherical mirror that has a relatively simple recording geometry.
optics literature dating back to 1985, however, a see-through pancake optic solution has not
been demonstrated to date. The key contribution here is the first full-color volume holographic
pancake optic in an optical see-through configuration for applications in mobile augmented reality.
Specifically, the full-color volume holographic pancake is combined with a flat lightguide in
order to achieve the optical see-through property. The fabricated hardware optics has a measured
field of view of 29 degrees (horizontal) by 12 degrees (vertical) and a measured large eyebox
that allows a ±10 mm horizontal motion and ∼±3 mm vertical motion for a 4 mm diameter
pupil. The measured modulation transfer function (average orientation) is 10% contrast at 10
lp/deg. Three holograms were characterized with respect to their diffraction efficiency, angular
bandwidth, focal length, haze, and thickness parameters. The phase function in the reflection
mode hologram implements a spherical mirror that has a relatively simple recording geometry.
Research Areas
