Compact HMD optics based on multiplexed aberration compensated holographic optical elements

Head and helmet mounted displays (HMDs) can benefit greatly from new wide field-of-view, compact visor optics to project very high resolution (e.g., 5k x 4k) imagery. Physical Optics Corporation (POC) is developing novel, compact, lightweight wide field-of-view optics based on three-color multiplexed aberration-compensated holographic optical elements (MAC-HOEs). Taking advantage of the flexibility of holography, the BAM optics can be made compact using waveguide projection through the curved visor substrate, so that the see-through visor can have a wide field-of-view without large, bulky optical components. Using narrowband red-green-blue hologram multiplexing, MAC-HOEs can significantly reduce the chromatic and geometrical aberration introduced by conventional HOEs and refractive optics. In the initial phase of development, POC demonstrated the feasibility of the HMD optics through computer design and analysis, and by fabricating and demonstrating a MAC-HOE component.