A full-color eyewear display using planar waveguides with reflection volume holograms

A full-color eyewear display with over 85% see-through transmittance with a 16 horizontal field of view was developed. Very low color crosstalk, less than 0.008 Delta u'v' uniformity, and 120% NTSC color gamut were achieved. Waveguides with two in- and out-coupling reflection volume hologram elements enabled a simple configuration that has an optical engine beside the user's temples. The reflection volume hologram elements used on the waveguides realized a small thickness of 1.4 mm for each waveguide, and an out-coupling reflection volume hologram used as an optical combiner contributed a high see-through transmittance of 85% due to its wavelength selectivity. However, there are technical challenges in achieving a reasonable screen size and quality color images with optics that utilize holographic waveguides because holograms have large chromatic dispersions compared to conventional optical elements such as lenses and mirrors. Approaches to overcome these issues are described.