CN217112892U

CN217112892U - Waveguide structure and head-mounted device

Info

Publication number: CN217112892U
Application number: CN202220537725.4U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张志圣; 关赛新; 马炳乾
Original assignee: Jiangxi OMS Microelectronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Jiangxi OMS Microelectronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-11
Filing date: 2022-03-11
Publication date: 2022-08-02
Anticipated expiration: 2032-03-11

Abstract

The utility model discloses a waveguide structure and head-mounted equipment, this waveguide structure include optical waveguide piece, reflection stratum and a plurality of optical microstructure. The waveguide sheet is provided with a first end and a second end which are opposite to each other, a first face and a second face which are connected to the first end and the second end and are opposite to each other, the waveguide sheet further comprises a light inlet area and a light outlet area, the light inlet area is located at the first end, the light outlet area is located at the second end, the light outlet area is located on the second face, a reflecting layer is arranged on the first face and corresponds to the light outlet area, the reflectivity of the reflecting layer is gradually increased along the direction from the first end to the second end, a plurality of optical microstructure arrays are arranged on the light outlet area, the optical microstructures are used for receiving light reflected by the reflecting layer and allowing part of the light to pass through to be emitted out of the waveguide structure, and the rest light is reflected to the reflecting layer. In the process of light conduction in the waveguide structure, the light intensity is more slowly reduced, and the light uniformity in the waveguide structure is good.

Description

Waveguide structure and head-mounted device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to an optical waveguide technical field especially relates to a waveguide structure and head-mounted equipment.

Background

In the display technology of AR (Augmented Reality), light for imaging is often guided through an optical waveguide structure, and during the light guiding process, part of the light is emitted out of the optical waveguide structure at different positions to be guided to the eyes of a user for viewing. It can be understood that, because the intensity of the light that is kept inside the optical waveguide structure for continuous transmission gradually decreases during the light transmission process, the intensity of the light that can be used for emitting from the optical waveguide structure also gradually decreases, that is, the uniformity of the light inside the optical waveguide structure is poor, which results in the poor uniformity of the light that can be used for emitting at various positions of the optical waveguide structure, and affects the quality of the image viewed by the user.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The embodiment of the utility model discloses waveguide structure and head-mounted device, this waveguide structure by keep in the inside light intensity falling speed who continues the conduction of waveguide structure slower, the light degree of consistency in the waveguide structure is good, the light degree of consistency that each position department of waveguide structure can be used for the ejection out is good, the image quality that the user watched is high.

In order to achieve the above object, in a first aspect, the present invention discloses a waveguide structure, including:

a waveguide sheet having a first end and a second end opposite to each other, and a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other and connected to the first end and the second end, the waveguide sheet further including a light entrance region and a light exit region, the light entrance region being located at the first end, the light exit region being located at the second end, and the light exit region being located on the second surface;

the reflecting layer is arranged on the first surface, corresponds to the light emergent area and gradually increases in reflectivity along the direction from the first end to the second end; and the number of the first and second groups,

the optical microstructures are arranged in the light emitting area and used for receiving the light rays reflected by the reflecting layer, allowing part of the light rays to pass through to be emitted out of the waveguide structure and reflecting the rest of the light rays to the reflecting layer.

The reflecting layer is arranged on the first surface of the waveguide sheet, the reflectivity of the reflecting layer is gradually increased from the first end to the second end, the light-emitting area is close to the first end, the light intensity kept in the waveguide sheet can be reduced, meanwhile, the light-emitting area is close to the second end, the light intensity kept in the waveguide sheet can be improved, the falling speed of the light intensity kept inside the waveguide structure to continue conducting is reduced, the uniformity of light in the waveguide structure is good, the uniformity of light emitted from each position of the waveguide structure is good, and the image quality observed by a user is improved.

In addition, because light penetrates into the waveguide sheet from the light inlet area, the light intensity in the waveguide sheet at the position, close to the first end, of the light outlet area is strong, the light intensity in the waveguide sheet at the position, close to the first end, of the light outlet area is reduced, the light intensity penetrating from the position, close to the first end, of the light outlet area of the waveguide sheet can be reduced, and the situation that the light intensity penetrating to the eyes of a user is too strong due to the fact that the light intensity penetrating from the position is too strong is avoided, and the eyes of the user are injured is avoided.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the reflective layer has a reflectivity Rp, where Rp is greater than or equal to 40% and less than or equal to 100%, so as to avoid an excessive light intensity loss of light when reflected by the reflective layer, so as to improve the total intensity of light remaining inside the waveguide structure.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the thickness h of the reflective layer gradually increases from the first end to the second end, and h is greater than or equal to 20nm and less than or equal to 150nm, so that the reflectivity of the reflective layer gradually increases from the first end to the second end (i.e., from the light incident region to the light exiting region).

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the optical microstructure has a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface, which are correspondingly disposed, the first reflective surface is used for allowing part of the light to pass through to be emitted to the waveguide structure, and is used for reflecting the remaining light to the second reflective surface, the second reflective surface is used for receiving the remaining light emitted from the first reflective surface and reflecting the remaining light to the reflective layer, the first reflective surface and the second surface form a predetermined included angle, so that an angle of the emitted light is within a predetermined range, and thus the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface cooperate to realize a function of the optical microstructure, which is used for allowing part of the light to pass through and reflecting the remaining light to the reflective layer.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the optical microstructure has a plurality of the first reflective surfaces and a plurality of the second reflective surfaces, each of the first reflective surfaces is disposed in a one-to-one correspondence with each of the second reflective surfaces, each of the first reflective surfaces is respectively used for corresponding to the light rays transmitted along different directions, so that a part of the corresponding light rays can be transmitted to exit the waveguide structure, and reflect the rest of the light rays to the corresponding second reflective surface, and the second reflective surface is used for receiving the rest of the light rays emitted from the corresponding first reflective surface and reflecting the rest of the light rays to the reflective layer, so that one optical microstructure can be used for correspondingly receiving, reflecting and transmitting the light rays transmitted along different optical paths.

As an optional implementation manner, in the embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the structural reflectivity of each optical microstructure is Rq, from the first end to the second end, each structural reflectivity Rq of the optical microstructure gradually decreases, so as to realize the effect of further improving the uniformity of light in the waveguide structure, and simultaneously, improve the intensity of light retained in the waveguide sheet, thereby realize the intensity of emergent light that can be used for improving the waveguide sheet, so as to further improve the display brightness of the waveguide sheet.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the reflection layer includes a plurality of reflection units arranged in a spaced array, so that a larger amount of light can pass through the waveguide sheet from one side of the first surface of the waveguide sheet to one side of the second surface of the waveguide sheet through a gap between any two reflection units, so that a user can see a scene in reality through the waveguide structure, and the display of the real world by the waveguide structure is less obstructed.

As an optional implementation manner, in the embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the adjacent two reflection units are etched to form the gap, so that on the one hand, the step of forming the gap has little influence on the structure of the first surface of the waveguide sheet 10, and the structure of the first surface is not damaged, so that the optical performance of the whole waveguide structure is good, on the other hand, the forming process of the plurality of reflection units is simple, and the manufacturing precision that the process can reach is high, so that the yield and the manufacturing precision of the waveguide structure can be improved, and the manufacturing cost of the waveguide structure is reduced.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, any adjacent multiple reflection units enclose to form a polygonal region, and a projection of each optical microstructure on the first surface is located in the corresponding polygonal region, so that the optical microstructure can be used for receiving light emitted from a reflection unit corresponding to and located in an incident light region of the optical microstructure, reflecting part of the light in the light to a reflection unit corresponding to and located in an emergent light region of the optical microstructure, and transmitting the rest of the light.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the optical micro-structure is disposed near the middle of the polygonal region, so that the optical micro-structure is easier to correspond to the reflection units located at the sharp corners of the polygonal region, and the lengths of the optical paths can be shorter, so as to reduce the loss of light during the transmission process.

As an optional implementation manner, in the embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the polygon area is a convex polygon area, and the number of sides of the polygon area is n, n is greater than or equal to 4 and is an even number, so that the optical microstructure only needs to receive the light transmitted along different directions emitted from the plurality of reflection units, partially reflect the light transmitted along different directions to the corresponding plurality of reflection units, and transmit the remaining light out of the waveguide structure.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, in the reflection unit enclosing and forming the polygonal region, a part of the reflection unit is located on a side of the corresponding optical microstructure facing the first end, and a center distance between the part of the reflection unit and the optical microstructure is a1, the remaining reflection unit is located on a side of the corresponding optical microstructure facing the second end, and a center distance between the remaining reflection unit and the optical microstructure is a2, a1 ≠ a2, so as to adapt to a situation that a relative position of a light ray to the second surface is different under the influence of light intensity, an angle of the optical microstructure, an angle emitted from the optical microstructure, and the like.

In a second aspect, the utility model discloses a head-mounted device, include support, illuminating part and as above-mentioned first aspect waveguide structure, the support is used for wearing in user's head, the illuminating part with waveguide structure all set up in the support, the illuminating part is used for the orientation the waveguide piece the light-emitting in-place region is luminous in order to throw light, and this head-mounted device's AR shows the degree of consistency height, and it is high to show luminance, and display quality is good, and head-mounted device's performance is good. In addition, since the manufacturing cost of the waveguide structure is low, the manufacturing cost of the head-mounted device structure is also reduced.

Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the utility model reside in that:

the embodiment of the utility model provides a waveguide structure, first face at the waveguide piece sets up the reflection stratum, and make the reflectivity of this reflection stratum rise gradually to the second end (i.e. from going into the light zone to the light zone), thereby can be close to first end department at the light zone, reduce the light intensity of being kept in the waveguide piece, be close to second end department at the light zone simultaneously, promote the light intensity of being kept in the waveguide piece, in order to slow down and keep the light intensity falling velocity of continuing the conduction inside the waveguide structure, make the light degree of consistency in the waveguide structure good, the light degree of consistency that waveguide structure each position department can be used for the ejection out is good, thereby promote the image quality that the user watched.

In addition, because light is from going into inside the light zone penetrates the waveguide piece, consequently go out the light zone and be close to first end department, the light intensity of penetrating from the waveguide piece is stronger, through reducing the light intensity that goes out the light zone and be close to in the first end department waveguide piece, can reduce the light intensity that comes out the light zone from the waveguide piece and be close to first end department, in order to avoid leading to the light intensity of directive user's eyes too strong from the light intensity that this department jetted out too strong, cause the condition of injury to user's eyes.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a waveguide structure disclosed in a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a graph showing the variation of the intensity of light rays guided in the waveguide structure disclosed in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application and the waveguide structure in the related art, respectively;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another waveguide structure disclosed in the first aspect of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a waveguide structure disclosed in a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a relative position relationship between a reflection unit and an optical microstructure disclosed in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing relative positions of four reflecting units and optical microstructures disclosed in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a graph of the variation of the intensity of light rays respectively guided within waveguide structures having different structural reflectivities for two optical microstructures disclosed in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating the variation of the intensity of light rays respectively transmitted and emitted by two waveguide structures with different reflectivities of the first reflective surface according to the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of an optical microstructure disclosed in the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a head-mounted device disclosed in the second aspect of the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is an exploded view of a head-mounted device disclosed in the second aspect of the embodiment of the present application.

Description of the main reference numerals:

a waveguide structure 1; a waveguide sheet 10; a first end 10 a; a second end 10 b; a light incident region 100; a light outgoing area 101; a first face 102; a second face 103; a reflective layer 11; a reflection unit 110; a first reflection unit 111; a second reflecting unit 112; a third reflection unit 113; a fourth reflection unit 114; an optical microstructure 12; a first reflective surface 120; a second reflective surface 121; a polygonal region 13; a head-mounted device 2; a support 20; a light emitting member 21; and an eye 3.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art without creative work belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

In the present invention, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "middle", "vertical", "horizontal", "lateral", "longitudinal", and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. These terms are used primarily to better describe the invention and its embodiments, and are not intended to limit the indicated devices, elements or components to a particular orientation or to be constructed and operated in a particular orientation.

Moreover, some of the above terms may be used to indicate other meanings besides the orientation or positional relationship, for example, the term "on" may also be used to indicate some kind of attachment or connection relationship in some cases. The specific meaning of these terms in the present invention can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art as appropriate.

Furthermore, the terms "mounted," "disposed," "provided," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a removable connection, or a unitary construction; can be a mechanical connection, or an electrical connection; may be directly connected, or indirectly connected through intervening media, or may be in internal communication between two devices, elements or components. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations by those skilled in the art.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used primarily to distinguish one device, element, or component from another (the specific nature and configuration may be the same or different), and are not used to indicate or imply the relative importance or number of the indicated devices, elements, or components. "plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

The technical solution of the present invention will be further described with reference to the following embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1, a schematic structural diagram of a waveguide structure disclosed in the first aspect of the present disclosure is shown, in which the first aspect of the present disclosure discloses a waveguide structure 1, the waveguide structure 1 is used for receiving, transmitting and emitting light, and the waveguide structure 1 includes a waveguide sheet 10, a reflective layer 11 and a plurality of optical microstructures 12. The waveguide sheet 10 has a first end 10a and a second end 10b opposite to each other, and a first surface 102 and a second surface 103 connected to the first end 10a and the second end 10b and opposite to each other, the waveguide sheet 10 further has a light incident region 100 and a light exiting region 101, the light incident region 100 is located at the first end 10a, the light incident region 100 is used for emitting light, the light exiting region 101 is located at the second end 10b, the light exiting region 101 is located on the second surface 103, the light exiting region 101 is used for outputting light, the reflective layer 11 is disposed on the first surface 102 and corresponds to the light exiting region 101, the reflectivity of the reflective layer 11 is gradually increased along a direction from the first end 10a to the second end 10b (i.e., along a direction from the light incident region 100 to the light exiting region 101), the plurality of optical microstructures 12 are disposed in the light exiting region 101, the optical microstructures 12 are used for receiving light reflected from the reflective layer 11 and allowing part of the light to pass through to be emitted to the waveguide structure 1, so as to be directed to the eye 3 of the user to display a picture for the user to watch, and reflect the remaining light rays to the reflective layer 11, so that the remaining light rays are reflected by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructures 12 and then are guided towards the second end 10b, wherein an example of a light path of the light rays guided in the waveguide structure 1 is shown by a thick dotted line and an arrow in fig. 1.

In the above, the phrase "the first face 102 and the second face 103 connected to the first end 10a and the second end 10b and opposite to each other" means that the first face 102 is connected to the first end 10a and the second end 10b, the second face 103 is connected to the first end 10a and the second end 10b, and the first face 102 and the second face 103 are disposed on two opposite sides of the waveguide piece 10 in the thickness direction H, wherein the arrows in fig. 1 show the thickness direction H of the waveguide piece 10. In addition, the phrase "the light entering region 100 is located at the first end 10 a" means that the light entering region 100 is located at the first end 10a and on the first surface 102, or the light entering region 100 is located at the first end 10a and on the second surface 103, or the light entering region 100 is located at the first end 10a and on any one side of the outer peripheral surface of the waveguide sheet 10, or the light entering region 100 may also be located at the first end 10a and on a plurality of surfaces of the waveguide sheet 10 at the same time, for example, on the first surface 102 and the second surface 103 at the same time, or on the first surface 102 and the outer peripheral surface of the waveguide sheet 10, or on the second surface 103 and the outer peripheral surface of the waveguide sheet 10 at multiple sides, or on the first surface 102, the second surface 103 and the outer peripheral surface of the waveguide sheet 10 at the same time.

Alternatively, the light may be totally reflected by the structures of the first surface 102 and the second surface 103 itself in the process of guiding the light from the light incident region 100 to the light exiting region 101, or may be totally reflected by covering a reflective film layer on the first surface 102 or the second surface 103, or on the first surface 102 and the second surface 103.

Please compare the following table a and table B, and with reference to fig. 2, the table a shows the intensity of light obtained after the light sequentially passes through the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 for eight reflections in the related art scheme a (typea) in which the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 is not changed, and the table B shows the intensity of light obtained after the light sequentially passes through the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 for eight reflections in the scheme B (typeb) in which the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 gradually increases from the first end 10a to the second end 10B, in the case of the scheme a and the scheme B, it is assumed that the structural reflectivity Rq of the optical microstructure 12 is 0.9 (i.e., 90%), and the intensity of light of the light source is 100. Where Tpi is the intensity of the light beam emitted to the reflective layer 11, Tpo is the intensity of the light beam reflected by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in sequence, that is, Tpo Rp Rq, the order is the number of times of reflection by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in sequence, the uniformity is (maximum value of Tpo-minimum value of Tpo)/(maximum value of Tpo + minimum value of Tpo), and the smaller the uniformity value, the better the uniformity is.

Watch 1

Watch two

Thus, compared with the scheme a (typea) in which the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 does not change, in the waveguide structure 1 in which the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 in the scheme b (typeb) gradually increases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, the light uniformity value inside the waveguide structure 1 decreases by about 0.1 in the process of eight reflections of the light sequentially passing through the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12, and it is easy to see from fig. 2 that, compared with the scheme a (typea), the light intensity of the light in the scheme b (typeb) is smaller in 1 to 4 steps and larger in 6 to 8 steps, that is, in the waveguide structure 1 in which the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 gradually increases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b in the scheme, the light exit region 101 near the first end 10a can decrease the light intensity retained in the waveguide sheet 10, and in the light exit region 101 near the second end 10b, the intensity of the light beam retained in the waveguide sheet 10 is increased, and the decreasing speed of the intensity of the light beam retained in the waveguide structure 1 for continuous conduction is slowed down, so as to improve the uniformity of the light beam in the waveguide structure 1.

Meanwhile, because this waveguide structure 1 is close to first end 10a department at light-emitting area 101, can reduce the light intensity that is kept in waveguide piece 10, consequently can also alleviate the too bright problem of light intensity that is close to first end 10a department of waveguide piece 10 light-emitting area 101, avoid user's eyes to receive the perpendicular incidence of too strong light, promote waveguide piece 10's safety in utilization performance.

In addition, since the waveguide structure 1 can increase the intensity of the light ray remaining in the light exit region 101 of the waveguide sheet 10 at the position where the light exit region 101 is close to the second end 10b, it can be used to increase the intensity of the light ray exiting from the waveguide sheet 10 at the position where it is close to the second end 10b, that is, the minimum limit value of the intensity of the light ray exiting from the waveguide structure 1 can be increased. It can be understood that, in order to ensure uniformity of intensity of light emitted from different positions of the waveguide structure 1, the intensity of light emitted from different positions of the waveguide structure 1 needs to be close to the minimum limit value of intensity of light emitted from the waveguide structure 1, and therefore, by increasing the minimum limit value of intensity of light emitted from the waveguide structure 1, the effect of increasing the overall brightness of light emitted from various positions of the waveguide structure 1 can be finally achieved, so as to improve the display quality of characters and patterns displayed by the waveguide structure 1.

It is understood that the smaller the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11, the greater the light intensity that is lost when the light is reflected by the reflective layer 11, and that when the light intensity that is lost is too large, the total intensity of the light that remains inside the waveguide structure 1 also decreases greatly, and therefore, the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 must not be too small. Based on this, the reflectance Rp of the reflective layer 11 may optionally satisfy: rp ≦ 40% Rp ≦ 100%, for example, Rp may be: 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100%, or the like. Illustratively, the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 may gradually increase from 40% to 80%, or may gradually increase from 70% to 100%, in a direction from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b.

To further reduce the light loss of light during transmission, the reflective layer 11 preferably has a reflectivity Rp of 60% ≦ Rp ≦ 100%, for example, Rp may be: 60%, 72%, 78%, 82%, 84%, 86%, 88%, 92%, 94%, 96%, 98%, or 100%, etc. Illustratively, the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 may gradually increase from 60% to 97%, or may gradually increase from 93% to 100%, in a direction from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b.

In some embodiments, the reflective layer 11 may be formed by disposing a light reflective material (which may include, but is not limited to, aluminum, silver, copper, gold, tin, chromium, mercury, and the like) on the first surface 102 by plating or by pasting, or the reflective layer 11 may be formed by forming a microstructure having a light reflective surface, such as a prism, a hemisphere, or a bead, on the first surface 102, or the reflective layer 11 may be formed by disposing a thin film having a microstructure having a light reflective surface, such as a prism, a hemisphere, or a bead, on the first surface 102 by pasting, so that the reflective layer 11 can be used to reflect light. As can be seen, the reflective layer 11 is formed on the first surface 102 in many ways, so that the difficulty in forming the reflective layer 11 can be reduced by selecting the way according to actual situations.

It is understood that when the reflective layer 11 is a light reflective material film disposed on the first surface 102, the reflectance Rp of the reflective layer 11 can be adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the light reflective material film (i.e., the thickness of the reflective layer 11) or adjusting the composition of the light reflective material film, and when the reflective layer 11 is a microstructure having a light reflective surface, the reflectance Rp of the reflective layer 11 can be adjusted by adjusting the disposition position, disposition angle, and disposition number of the light reflective surface of the microstructure, so that the reflective layer 11 can be formed into the reflective layer 11 having the gradually-changed reflectance Rp by adjusting the reflectance Rp of the reflective layer 11.

Taking the reflective layer 11 as the light reflective material film disposed on the first surface 102 as an example, in order to gradually increase the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, in an alternative example, the light transmittance of the reflective layer 11 may be gradually decreased from the first end 10a to the second end 10b by gradually increasing the thickness h of the reflective layer 11 from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, so that the light reflectivity of the reflective layer 11 is gradually increased from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 3 together, it can be understood that when the reflective layer 11 includes the same light reflective material, the reflective layer 11 has different reflectivities Rp at different thicknesses, and as mentioned above, the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 can satisfy: rp is more than or equal to 40% and less than or equal to 100%, therefore, when the reflective layer 11 includes the same light reflective material, the value range that the thickness h of the reflective layer 11 should satisfy is different in order to make the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 satisfy the design requirement. Taking the example where the reflective layer 11 includes aluminum, that is, the reflective layer 11 is formed as an aluminum film provided on the first surface 102, in order for the reflectance Rp of the reflective layer 11 to satisfy 40% Rp 100%, the thickness h of the reflective layer 11 may satisfy: 20nm ≦ h ≦ 150nm, for example, the thickness h of the reflective layer 11 may be 20nm, 30nm, 40nm, 50nm, 60nm, 70nm, 80nm, 90nm, 100nm, 110nm, 120nm, 130nm, 140nm, 150nm, or the like. Illustratively, the thickness h of the reflective layer 11 may gradually increase from 25nm to 105nm in a direction from the first end 10a to the second end 10b to form the top surface of the reflective layer 11 as a slope (as shown in fig. 3), or may gradually increase from 65nm to 95nm in a stepwise manner (as shown in fig. 1).

In another alternative example, the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 may be gradually increased from the first end 10a to the second end 10b by making the reflective layer 11 at least include two light reflective materials with different reflectivities and making the content of the material with lower light reflectivity gradually decrease from the first end 10a to the second end 10b and the content of the material with higher light reflectivity gradually increase from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, for example, the reflective layer 11 may include aluminum and silver, wherein the light reflectivity of aluminum is smaller than that of silver, and the content of aluminum included in the reflective layer 11 gradually decreases and the content of silver included in the reflective layer 11 gradually increases from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b.

In still another alternative example, the different reflectance Rp may be obtained by making the reflective layer 11 include a plurality of light reflective materials different in reflectance while varying the thickness h of the reflective material. It is understood that when the reflective materials are different and have the same thickness h, the reflective materials may have the same or different reflectivities Rp. It can be seen that the material and thickness h of the reflective material can be specifically selected according to the properties of the reflective material itself, and the material and thickness h of the reflective layer 11 are not specifically limited in this embodiment as long as the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer is gradually increased from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b.

In some embodiments, the reflective layer 11 may be disposed on the first surface 102, so that the disposition of the reflective layer 11 is simple, or the reflective layer 11 may include reflective units 110 disposed on the first surface 102 in a spaced array, so that a larger amount of light can pass through the waveguide sheet 10 from the side of the first surface 102 of the waveguide sheet 10 to the side of the second surface 103 of the waveguide sheet 10 through the gap between any two reflective units 110, so that the user can see the real scene through the waveguide structure 1, and the waveguide structure 1 has little obstruction to the real world display. It is understood that when the reflective layer 11 includes a plurality of reflective units 110, each reflective unit 110 has a reflectivity Rp gradually increasing from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b.

Taking the example that the reflective layer 11 includes a plurality of reflective units 110, in order to form a plurality of reflective units 110 arranged in an array at intervals on the first surface 102, optionally, a gap between two adjacent reflective units 110 may be formed by covering a complete reflective layer 11 on the first surface 102 and removing a part of the reflective layer 11 where the reflective units 110 are not required to be arranged, and simultaneously, the remaining reflective layer 11 is formed into a plurality of reflective units 110 arranged in an array at intervals.

Specifically, the gap between two adjacent reflection units 110 may be formed by etching, that is, the partial reflection layer 11 at the position where the reflection unit 110 is not required to be disposed may be removed by etching, so that on one hand, the step of removing the unnecessary partial reflection layer 11 has little influence on the structure of the first surface 102 of the waveguide sheet 10, and the structure of the first surface 102 is not damaged in the process of removing the partial reflection layer 11 due to the tight and stable connection relationship between the reflection layer 11 and the first surface 102, so that the optical performance of the whole waveguide structure 1 is good, on the other hand, the forming process of the plurality of reflection units 110 is simple, and the manufacturing precision that the process can achieve is high, so that the yield and the manufacturing precision of the waveguide structure 1 can be improved, and the manufacturing cost of the waveguide structure 1 is reduced.

It is understood that in other embodiments, the plurality of reflection units 110 may also be formed by arranging the plurality of reflection units 110 in a spaced array only at the positions of the first face 102 where the reflection units 110 need to be arranged.

As described above, in order to gradually increase the reflectance Rp of the reflective layer 11 from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, the thickness h of the reflective layer 11 may be gradually increased from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, and the top surface of the reflective layer 11 may be formed as a slope or a step surface. It is understood that when the reflective layer 11 includes a plurality of reflective units 110, the thickness of the plurality of reflective units 110 may gradually increase from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, and meanwhile, the top surface of each reflective unit 110 may be formed as a flat surface (as shown in fig. 1) or as an inclined surface (as shown in fig. 3), and when the top surface of the reflective unit 110 is formed as an inclined surface, the thickness h of each reflective unit 110 may also gradually increase from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b.

Referring to fig. 4, for a light source, when the light emitting direction of the light source is unique, that is, when the direction of the light emitted to the light incident region 100 of the waveguide structure 1 is not changed, the range of the positions of the optical microstructures 12 where the light path of the light passes through in the waveguide structure 1 is small, and the display area of the waveguide structure 1 can be small. When the light emitting direction of the light source is changeable, that is, when the direction of the light emitted to the light incident region 100 of the waveguide structure 1 is various, the range of the position of the optical microstructure 12 where the light path of the light in the waveguide structure 1 passes through is large, the display area that can be obtained by the waveguide structure 1 is large, as shown in fig. 4, the light path of light rays directed in one direction to the light entry region 100 of the waveguide structure 1 is shown in figure 4 by thick dashed lines and arrows, the light paths of the light rays in the light entrance region 100 of the waveguide structure 1 in the other direction are shown by the bold dashed lines and arrows, and it is easy to see that the light paths shown by the bold dashed lines and arrows cannot pass through all the optical microstructures 12, whereas the thick dashed line, superimposed with the arrow and the thick dashed line with the light path shown by the arrow, is able to pass through all optical microstructures 12.

Based on this, in an alternative embodiment, the waveguide structure 1 may be used to conduct light rays that are directed to the light-incident region 100 in one direction, so that the structure of the waveguide structure 1 is simple, and thus, the reflective layer 11 may be used to reflect light rays that are conducted along one optical path.

It is understood that in this case, the optical microstructures 12 may also be used to receive light transmitted along a light path, reflect part of the light, and transmit the rest of the light, and in this case, optionally, the projection of each optical microstructure 12 on the first surface 102 may be located between any two adjacent reflection units 110 along a light path.

In another alternative embodiment, waveguide structure 1 may be used to guide light rays emitted in multiple directions toward light-incident region 100, so that waveguide structure 1 can obtain a larger display area, and thus, optionally, reflective layer 11 may be used to reflect light rays guided along multiple light paths.

Referring to fig. 4 and fig. 5 together, the optical microstructures 12 can also be used to receive light rays propagating along multiple light paths and reflect part of the light rays, and transmit the rest of the light rays, so that the number of the reflective layers 11 and the optical microstructures 12 is small, and the waveguide structure 1 can transmit light rays emitted to the light incident region 100 along multiple directions, at this time, optionally, any adjacent multiple reflection units 110 can enclose a polygonal region 13, a projection of each optical microstructure 12 on the first surface 102 is located in the corresponding polygonal region 13, so that the optical microstructures 12 can be used to receive light rays emitted from the reflection unit 110 facing the light incident region 100 corresponding to and located on the optical microstructure 12, and reflect part of the light rays to the reflection unit 110 corresponding to and located on the side facing the second end 10b of the optical microstructure 12, and transmits the remaining light. The phrase "any adjacent plurality of reflection units 110 may surround to form the polygonal region 13" means that any two reflection units 110 of the plurality of reflection units 110 surrounding the polygonal region 13 are adjacent to each other, that is, no other reflection unit 110 exists inside the polygonal region 13.

It is understood that fig. 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams of the waveguide structure 1 provided in the present embodiment, wherein the reflection unit 110 is illustrated by a rectangle, and the optical microstructure 12 is illustrated by a diamond, which are only used for illustrating the approximate positions of the reflection unit 110 and the optical microstructure 12, and do not limit the actual structures of the reflection unit 110 and the optical microstructure 12, for example, the projection of the reflection unit 110 on the waveguide sheet 10 may be a triangle, a diamond, a circle, an ellipse, a pentagon or other shapes, and the projection of the optical microstructure 12 on the waveguide sheet 10 may be a triangle, a rectangle, a circle, an ellipse, a pentagon or other shapes.

Alternatively, the optical microstructures 12 may be disposed near the middle of the polygonal region 13, so that the optical microstructures 12 can more easily correspond to the reflection units 110 located at the sharp corners of the polygonal region 13, and the lengths of the optical paths can be made shorter to reduce the loss of light during the transmission process.

Illustratively, as shown in (a) of fig. 5, the polygonal area 13 may be a triangle, that is, the adjacent reflection units 110 may be three, of the three reflection units 110, two reflection units 110 are located on one side of the corresponding optical microstructure 12 facing the first end 10a, the remaining one reflection unit 110 is located on one side of the corresponding optical microstructure 12 facing the second end 10b, the optical microstructure 12 is configured to receive light rays emitted from the two reflection units 110 in two directions, reflect part of the light rays to the remaining one reflection unit 110, and transmit the remaining light rays to the outside of the waveguide structure 1, and the light paths of the two light rays emitted to the optical microstructure 12 in different directions are respectively shown by a thick dotted line and an arrow in (a) of fig. 5.

As shown in (b) of fig. 5, or, the polygonal area 13 may be a quadrangle, that is, the adjacent reflection units 110 may be four, of the four reflection units 110, two reflection units 110 are located on one side of the corresponding optical microstructure 12 facing the first end 10a, and the remaining two reflection units 110 are located on one side of the corresponding optical microstructure 12 facing the second end 10b, the optical microstructure 12 is configured to receive the two directions of light emitted from the two reflection units 110, respectively reflect the two directions of light to the remaining two reflection units 110, and transmit the remaining light to the outside of the waveguide structure 1, where the light paths of the two directions of light emitted to the optical microstructure 12 in different directions are respectively shown by thick dotted lines and arrows in (b) of fig. 5, and the thick dotted lines and arrows.

As shown in (c) of fig. 5, or, the polygonal area 13 may be a pentagon, that is, the adjacent reflection units 110 may be five, of the five reflection units 110, two reflection units 110 are located on one side of the corresponding optical microstructure 12 facing the first end 10a, the remaining three reflection units 110 are located on one side of the corresponding optical microstructure 12 facing the second end 10b, the optical microstructure 12 is configured to correspond to the light received from the two reflection units 110 and to partially reflect the light of one direction to the remaining three reflection units 110, the corresponding one reflection unit 110 splits and reflects the light of the remaining one direction to the remaining three reflection units 110, the corresponding two reflection units 110 and transmits the remaining light to the outside of the waveguide structure 1, the heavy dotted line and the arrow in (c) of fig. 5, and the heavy dotted line and the arrow respectively show the two light rays emitted to the optical microstructure 12 in different directions, and the heavy dotted line and the arrow respectively show the heavy dotted line and the arrow in fig. 5 An optical path.

As can be seen from the above, when the number of sides of the polygonal region 13 is odd, that is, the number of adjacent reflection units 110 is odd, the optical microstructure 12 needs to reflect light rays in different directions to the same reflection unit 110, or split light rays propagating along one direction into a plurality of light rays propagating along different directions, the function of the optical microstructure 12 is complex, and the structure of the optical microstructure 12 is complex. When the number of the sides of the polygonal region 13 is even (the number of the sides of the polygonal region 13 is n, n is greater than or equal to 4, and n is even), that is, when the number of the adjacent reflection units 110 is even, the number of the reflection units 110 respectively located at the side of the optical microstructure 12 facing the second end 10b and the side facing the first end 10a may be equal, and may be in one-to-one correspondence, so that the optical microstructure 12 only needs to receive the light rays emitted from the plurality of reflection units 110 and transmitted in different directions, partially reflect the light rays transmitted in different directions to the corresponding plurality of reflection units 110, and transmit the remaining light rays out of the waveguide structure 1, and the optical microstructure 12 has a simple function, and the structure of the optical microstructure 12 is simple.

Taking the number of the sides of the polygonal region 13 as an even number as an example, further, the polygonal region 13 is formed into a convex polygon, so that the center distances between each reflection unit 110 and the corresponding optical microstructure 12 can be relatively averaged, so that the shapes of the conduction light paths of the light rays conducted along different light paths are relatively similar, and the light losses of the light rays conducted along different light paths after passing through the light path paths with the same length are relatively close, so as to improve the consistency of the light rays conducted along different light paths, and thus improve the display balance of the waveguide structure 1.

Illustratively, when the reflective layer 11 is used for reflecting light rays conducted along two different light paths, any adjacent four reflection units 110 enclose to form a convex quadrilateral region, the projection of each optical microstructure 12 on the first face 102 is located in the convex quadrilateral region, so that the optical microstructure 12 and two groups of reflection units 110 respectively located on two diagonals of the convex quadrilateral region form two different light ray conduction paths, when the reflective layer 11 is used for reflecting light rays conducted along three different directions, any adjacent six reflection units 110 enclose to form a convex hexagonal region, the projection of each optical microstructure 12 on the first face 102 is located in the convex hexagonal region, so that the optical microstructure 12 and three groups of reflection units 110 respectively located on three diagonals of the convex hexagonal region form three different light ray conduction paths, when the reflective layer 11 is used to reflect light rays propagating along four different light paths, any adjacent eight reflective units 110 enclose to form a convex octagonal region, and the projection of each optical microstructure 12 on the first surface 102 is located in the convex octagonal region, so that the optical microstructures 12 and four sets of reflective units 110 respectively located on four diagonal lines of the convex octagonal region form four different light ray propagation paths.

Referring to fig. 5 (b), taking the polygonal area 13 as a convex quadrilateral as an example, the four reflection units 110 enclosing the convex quadrilateral area can be a first reflection unit 111, a second reflection unit 112, a third reflection unit 113 and a fourth reflection unit 114, respectively, the third reflection unit 113 is located on the side of the first reflection unit 111 facing the second end 10b, the fourth reflection unit 114 is located on the side of the second reflection unit 112 facing the second end 10b, and the first reflection unit 111 and the fourth reflection unit 114 are located on one diagonal line of the quadrangular region, the second reflection unit 112 and the third reflection unit 113 are located on the other diagonal line of the quadrangular region, the four adjacent reflection units 110 correspond to one optical microstructure 12, and the corresponding optical microstructure 12 is located near the middle of the convex quadrilateral region on the first surface 102. The light rays in the waveguide sheet 10 include light rays K and light rays J that are transmitted along different optical paths, wherein a portion of the light rays K are reflected by the first reflecting unit 111, the optical microstructures 12 and the fourth reflecting unit 114 to be transmitted from the light incident region 100 to the light emitting region 101 (i.e., from the first end 10a to the second end 10b), a portion of the light rays J are sequentially reflected by the second reflecting unit 112, the optical microstructures 12 and the third reflecting unit 113 to be transmitted from the light incident region 100 to the light emitting region 101, and the remaining light rays K and the remaining light rays J are transmitted to the outside of the waveguide structure 1 through the optical microstructures 12 to be emitted to the eyes of the user for the user to watch. It is understood that (b) in fig. 5 only exemplarily shows a case where two light rays K and J propagating along different optical paths are propagated in the waveguide sheet 10, in other embodiments, different optical path designs are possible, for example, when light rays in waveguide sheet 10, including light ray K and light ray J propagating along different optical paths, of the light K, a portion of the light can be reflected by the first reflecting unit 111, the optical microstructures 12 and the third reflecting unit 113, to transmit light from the light incident region 100 to the light emitting region 101, some of the light J can be reflected by the second reflecting unit 112, the optical microstructures 12 and the fourth reflecting unit 114 in sequence, to propagate from the light incident region 100 to the light exiting region 101, the remaining light of the light K and the light J is transmitted to the outside of the waveguide structure 1 through the optical microstructures 12 to be emitted to the eyes of the user. It can be seen that, as long as the light in the waveguide sheet 10 can be alternately reflected at the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructures 12 to be transmitted from the light incident region 100 to the light exit region 101 of the waveguide sheet 10, the present embodiment is not particularly limited to the optical path of the light in the waveguide sheet 10.

In order to further improve the uniformity of the light rays propagating along different optical paths, in some embodiments, in the reflection units 110 enclosing the polygon region 13, some of the reflection units 110 are located on the side of the corresponding optical microstructure 12 facing the first end 10a, and the center distances between the respective reflection units 110 and the optical microstructures 12 may be a1, the remaining reflection units 110 are located on the side of the corresponding optical microstructure 12 facing the second end 10b, and the center distances between the respective reflection units 110 and the optical microstructures 12 may be a2, where a center distance a1 is a center distance between the projection shapes of the respective reflection units 110 and the optical microstructures 12 on the first surface 102, a center distance a2 is a center distance between the projection shapes of the respective reflection units 110 and the optical microstructures 12 on the first surface 102, that is, the extending direction of the center distance a1 and the center distance a2 is parallel to the direction of the first face 102.

It can be understood that under the influence of the intensity of the light, the angle of the light emitted to the optical microstructures 12, the angle of the light emitted from the optical microstructures 12, and the like, the relative position of the light emitted to the second surface 103 and the optical microstructures 12 is different, so that the center distances between the reflection units 110 of different orders and the corresponding optical microstructures 12 are different, and therefore, a1 ≠ a 2. Taking the polygonal region 13 as a convex quadrilateral region, and the four reflection units 110 enclosing the convex quadrilateral region are respectively the first reflection unit 111, the second reflection unit 112, the third reflection unit 113 and the fourth reflection unit 114, specifically, the center distance between the first reflection unit 111 and the corresponding optical microstructure 12 is a1, the center distance between the second reflection unit 112 and the corresponding optical microstructure 12 is also a1, the center distance between the third reflection unit 113 and the corresponding optical microstructure 12 is a2, and the center distance between the fourth reflection unit 114 and the corresponding optical microstructure 12 is also a2, a1 ≠ a 2.

Next, the structure of the optical microstructure 12 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 3 together, it can be understood that, since the optical microstructures 12 are used to transmit part of the light in the waveguide structure 1, so that the part of the light is emitted to the eyes 3 of the user for the user to see, the arrangement region of the second surface 103 of the optical microstructures 12 is formed as the display region of the waveguide structure 1, so that the display region of the waveguide structure 1 can be formed as a plane instead of a line by arranging the array of the optical microstructures 12 on the second surface 103 at intervals, so that the waveguide structure 1 can be used to display content information such as virtual images, characters, etc.

Alternatively, the optical microstructures 12 may include, but are not limited to, microstructures such as prisms, hemispheres, or beads, which have a light-reflecting surface and are made of a polymer material (e.g., epoxy resin, acrylic resin, etc.) with good optical performance, and may be formed on the second surface 103 of the waveguide sheet 10 by etching, transferring, etc., so that part of the light rays is reflected by the light-reflecting surface included in the optical microstructures 12, and the rest of the light rays is transmitted, so that the rest of the light rays is emitted out of the waveguide structure 1 through the optical microstructures 12 to be emitted to the eyes 3 of a user, so as to be viewed by the user, and thus, the function of the waveguide structure 1 for displaying virtual information and image content is realized.

In some embodiments, the structural reflectivity Rq of each optical microstructure 12 may be constant to make the waveguide structure 1 simple, or the structural reflectivity Rq of each optical microstructure 12 may be varied to further improve the uniformity of light within the waveguide structure 1.

Specifically, the structural reflectivity Rq of each optical microstructure 12 may gradually decrease from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b. Please compare the following table three with table four, and with reference to fig. 7, in the table three, which shows a scheme b (typeb) in which the structural reflectivity Rq of the optical microstructure 12 is not changed, the light intensity obtained after the light sequentially passes through the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructures 12 for eight reflections is shown in table four, in another scheme c (typec) in which the structural reflectivity Rq of the optical microstructures 12 gradually decreases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, the light intensity obtained after the light is reflected for eight times by the reflecting layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in sequence, in case of the schemes b (typeb) and c (typec), the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11 gradually increases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b (i.e., as the order increases), and the reflectivities Rp of the reflective layer 11 at the same order of the case b (typeb) and the case c (typec) are all equal, and the light intensity of the light source is assumed to be 100. Where Tpi is the intensity of the light beam emitted to the reflective layer 11, Tpo is the intensity of the light beam reflected by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in sequence, that is, Tpo Rp Rq, the order is the number of times of reflection by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in sequence, the uniformity is (maximum value of Tpo-minimum value of Tpo)/(maximum value of Tpo + minimum value of Tpo), and the smaller the uniformity value, the better the uniformity is.

Watch III

Watch four

It can be seen that, along the direction from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, the structural reflectivity Rq of each optical microstructure 12 is gradually reduced, so that the effect of further improving the uniformity of light in the waveguide structure 1 can be achieved, and meanwhile, the intensity of light retained in the waveguide sheet 10 can be improved, so that the intensity of emergent light of the waveguide sheet 10 can be improved, and the display brightness of the waveguide sheet 10 can be further improved.

Alternatively, the optical microstructure 12 may have a first reflective surface 120 and a second reflective surface 121 correspondingly disposed, the first reflective surface 120 is used for allowing a part of light to pass through to be emitted to the waveguide structure 1, and is used for reflecting the remaining light to the second reflective surface 121, the second reflective surface 121 is used for receiving the remaining light emitted from the first reflective surface 120 and reflecting the remaining light to the reflective layer 11, so that the first reflective surface 120 and the second reflective surface 121 cooperate to realize the function of the optical microstructure 12 that is used for allowing a part of light to pass through and reflecting the remaining light to the reflective layer 11.

As shown in fig. 3, optionally, the first reflective surface 120 may form a predetermined included angle θ with the second surface 103, so that the angle between the light beam emitted to the first reflective surface 120 and the first reflective surface 120 can be adjusted by adjusting the predetermined included angle θ and the angle of the light beam emitted to the first reflective surface 120 according to the reflection law and the refraction law of light, so as to adjust the angle of the part of the light beam transmitted through the first reflective surface 120, so that the angle of the emitted light beam is within a predetermined range, for example, the first reflective surface 120 can be used for allowing the part of the light beam to be emitted to the outside of the waveguide structure 1 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second surface 103 (for example, the direction having an included angle of 70 °, 75 °, 80 °, 85 °, 90 °, 95 °, 100 °, 105 °, or 110 ° with the second surface 103) so that the part of the light beam can be substantially directed to the user's eye 3, and simultaneously adjust the angle of the rest of the light beam reflected to the first reflective surface 120, for reflecting the remaining light toward the second reflective surface 121.

It can be understood that the reflectivity of the first reflective surfaces 120 is R1, and therefore theoretically, the transmissivity of the first reflective surfaces 120 is 1-R1, so that the intensity of the light emitted from each first reflective surface 120 can be adjusted by adjusting the reflectivity R1 of each first reflective surface 120, so as to improve the uniformity of the intensity of the light emitted from each first reflective surface 120, and thus improve the display uniformity of the waveguide structure 1. Specifically, since the intensity of the light guided in the waveguide structure 1 gradually decreases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, the transmittance 1-R1 of each first reflective surface 120 should gradually increase so that the reflectance R1 of each first reflective surface 120 can gradually decrease in order to make the transmitted light intensity more uniform.

Further, the reflectance of the second reflecting surface 121 corresponding to the first reflecting surface 120 is R2, and the structural reflectance Rq of the optical microstructure 12 and the reflectances R1 and R2 satisfy: rq R1R 2. In an alternative example, the reflectivity R2 of the second reflection surface 121 may be unchanged (for example, the second reflection surface 121 is formed as a total reflection surface, that is, the reflectivity R2 is equal to 1), so that the reflectivity R1 of the first reflection surface 120 is reduced along with the gradual reduction of the value of the structural reflectivity Rq in the direction from the first end 10a to the second end 10 b.

It can be understood that when the reflectivity R2 is equal to 1, the loss of the light ray in the process of being reflected by the second reflecting surface 121 is minimal, so that the reflectivity R1 of the first reflecting surface 120 can be made smaller under the condition that the value of the structural reflectivity Rq satisfies the designed value, so as to increase the intensity of the light ray transmitted out of the waveguide structure 1 from the first reflecting surface 120, and thus increase the display brightness of the waveguide structure 1. However, in actual manufacturing, it is difficult to actually realize a total reflection surface having a reflectance R2 of 1 in the second reflection surface 121 due to limitations of manufacturing techniques, and therefore, the second reflection surface 121 may be formed as a reflection surface having a reflectance R2 close to 1 (for example, R2 of 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.91, 0.92, 0.93, 0.94, 0.95, 0.96, 0.97, 0.98, 0.99, or 0.995).

For example, please refer to table five below, which shows that in a scheme C1(typeC1) in which the reflectivity R1 of the first reflective surface 120 is not changed and the reflectivity R2 of the second reflective surface 121 is reduced along with the gradual reduction of the structural reflectivity Rq, the light intensity obtained after eight reflections of the light sequentially pass through the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12. Where R2 is Rq/R1, the light intensity of the light source is assumed to be 100, Tpi is the light intensity emitted to the reflective layer 11, Tq is the intensity of the light transmitted to the outside of the waveguide structure 1 through the first reflective surface 120, Tpi is Rp (1 to R1), Tpo is the light intensity reflected by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in this order, i.e., Tpo is Tpi Rp Rq, the order is the number of times of reflection by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in this order, and the uniformity is (maximum value of Tpo-minimum value of Tpo)/(maximum value of Tpo + minimum value of Tpo), and the smaller the number of uniformity, the better the uniformity.

Watch five

In another alternative example, the reflectivity R1 of the first reflective surface 120 may be actively adjusted to make the intensity of the light emitted from each first reflective surface 120 more uniform, and after the reflectivity R1 of the first reflective surface 120 is determined, the value of the structural reflectivity Rq of the optical microstructure 12 as a whole is adjusted by adjusting the reflectivity R2 of the second reflective surface 121, so that the display uniformity of the waveguide structure 1 is higher, and the value of the structural reflectivity Rq can further improve the effect of the intensity uniformity of the light retained in the waveguide structure 1.

For example, please refer to the following sixth table, which shows the intensity of light obtained after eight reflections of the light sequentially pass through the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in another scheme C2(typeC2) in which the reflectivity R1 of the first reflective surface 120 gradually decreases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, and the structural reflectivity Rq of the optical microstructure 12 also gradually decreases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b (i.e., as the number of orders increases). Where R2 is Rq/R1, the light intensity of the light source is assumed to be 100, Tpi is the light intensity emitted to the reflective layer 11, Tq is the intensity of the light transmitted to the outside of the waveguide structure 1 through the first reflective surface 120, Tpi is Rp (1 to R1), Tpo is the light intensity reflected by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in this order, i.e., Tpo is Tpi Rp Rq, the order is the number of times of reflection by the reflective layer 11 and the optical microstructure 12 in this order, and the uniformity is (maximum value of Tpo-minimum value of Tpo)/(maximum value of Tpo + minimum value of Tpo), and the smaller the number of uniformity, the better the uniformity.

Watch six

Comparing table five with table six, and with reference to fig. 8, in the case of the schemes C1(typeC1) and C2(typeC2), the structural reflectance Rq of the optical microstructure 12 gradually decreases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b (i.e., as the order increases), and the structural reflectances Rq of the optical microstructures 12 at the same order of the schemes C1(typeC1) and C2(typeC2) are all equal. It can be seen that, as the order increases, the intensity of the light emitted from the waveguide structure 1 in the case of the solution C1(typeC1) in which the reflectance R1 of the first reflective surface 120 does not change gradually decreases from about 6.45 to about 2.14, while in the solution C2(typeC2) in which the reflectance R1 of the first reflective surface 120 gradually decreases from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, the intensity of the light emitted from the waveguide structure 1 is always maintained at about 2.14, that is, compared to the solution C1(typeC1), the solution C2(typeC2) has better intensity uniformity of the light emitted from the waveguide structure 1, can further decrease the brightness of the light emitted from the light region 101 near the first end 10a, prevent the user's eyes from being directly illuminated by the excessively strong light, improve the safety of the waveguide sheet 10, further improve the brightness of the light emitted from the light region 101 near the second end 10b, and further improve the overall brightness of the waveguide structure 1, resulting in higher display quality.

In some embodiments, the reflectance R1 of the first reflective surface 120 and the reflectance R2 of the second reflective surface 121 can be adjusted by providing reflective films on the first reflective surface 120 and the second reflective surface 121, respectively. It can be understood that how to adjust the reflective film to adjust the reflectivity R1 of the first reflective surface 120 and the reflectivity R2 of the second reflective surface 121 may refer to how to adjust the structure and the material composition of the reflective layer 11 to adjust the reflectivity Rp of the reflective layer 11, and will not be described herein again.

Referring to fig. 5 and 9, as mentioned above, one optical microstructure 12 may be used for correspondingly receiving, reflecting and transmitting light rays propagating along a plurality of different optical paths, and in order to make the light propagation accuracy of the waveguide structure 1 higher, one first reflective surface 120 and one corresponding second reflective surface 121 may be used for reflecting and transmitting light rays propagating along one direction only. Based on this, in some embodiments, the optical microstructure 12 may have a plurality of first reflective surfaces 120 and a plurality of second reflective surfaces 121, each of the first reflective surfaces 120 and each of the second reflective surfaces 121 are disposed in a one-to-one correspondence, each of the first reflective surfaces 120 is respectively used for corresponding to the light rays transmitted along different directions, so that a part of the corresponding light rays is transmitted to be emitted to the waveguide structure 1 and the remaining light rays are reflected to the corresponding second reflective surfaces 121, and the second reflective surfaces 121 are used for receiving the remaining light rays emitted from the corresponding first reflective surfaces 120 and reflecting the remaining light rays to the reflective layer 11. It can be understood that the number of the first reflective surface 120 and the second reflective surface 121 of the optical microstructure 12 is equal to the number of the light beams that are transmitted along different optical paths corresponding to the optical microstructure 12, and therefore, when the optical microstructure 12 transmits the light beams that are transmitted along two different optical paths, the first reflective surface 120 and the second reflective surface 121 are both two, when the optical microstructure 12 transmits the light beams that are transmitted along three different optical paths, the first reflective surface 120 and the second reflective surface 121 are both three, when the optical microstructure 12 transmits the light beams that are transmitted along four different optical paths, the first reflective surface 120 and the second reflective surface 121 are both four, and so on.

Taking two first reflection surfaces 120 and two second reflection surfaces 121 as an example, as shown in fig. 9, the optical microstructure 12 may be formed in a quadrangular pyramid shape, so that the optical microstructure 12 has four surfaces facing each other two by two, of the four surfaces, two surfaces located on the side of the optical microstructure 12 facing the first end 10a are formed as the first reflection surfaces 120, and two surfaces located on the side of the optical microstructure 12 facing the second end 10b are formed as the second reflection surfaces 121.

The embodiment of the utility model discloses waveguide structure 1, through following in the direction from first end 10a to second end 10b, make the reflectivity Rp of reflector layer 11 rise gradually, can reduce the light intensity that is kept in the first end 10a of waveguide piece 10, promote the light intensity that is kept in the second end 10b of waveguide piece 10, slow down and keep the light intensity falling velocity who continues the conduction in waveguide structure 1 inside, with the effect of the light degree of consistency in promoting waveguide structure 1, thereby can promote the light intensity that is close to second end 10b department and jets out in waveguide structure 1 from light-emitting area 101 of waveguide piece 10, with the display quality who promotes waveguide structure 1.

More specifically, by gradually decreasing the structure reflectivity Rq of each optical microstructure 12 along the direction from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, the effect of further improving the uniformity of light in the waveguide structure 1 can be achieved, thereby further improving the display quality of the waveguide structure.

Further, the reflectivity R1 of the first reflective surface 120 is gradually reduced along the direction from the first end 10a to the second end 10b, so that the display uniformity of the waveguide structure 1 can be high, and meanwhile, the structural reflectivity Rq of the whole optical microstructure 12 can be gradually reduced by adjusting the value of the reflectivity R2 of the second reflective surface 121, thereby further improving the uniformity of the intensity of the light rays retained in the waveguide structure 1. It can be understood that, because the falling speed of the intensity of the light in the waveguide structure 1 is slowed down in the conduction process, therefore, the intensity of the light retained in the waveguide sheet 10 is higher at the position where the light emitting region 101 is close to the second end 10b, so that the intensity of the light emitted from the light emitting region 101 of the waveguide sheet 10 to the waveguide structure 1 can be higher, and therefore, the overall display brightness of the waveguide structure 1 can be improved under the condition that the overall display uniformity of the waveguide structure 1 is higher, and the overall display quality of the waveguide structure 1 can be improved.

In addition, since the plurality of reflective layers 11 of the waveguide structure 1 provided in this embodiment can be formed on the first surface 102 by etching a complete reflective layer 11, and the optical microstructures 12 can be formed on the second surface 103 by a transfer process or an etching process, the etching and transfer processes are mature, the achievable precision is high, and the yield of the finished product is high, the manufacturing process of the waveguide structure 1 is simple, and the manufacturing precision and yield of the waveguide structure 1 are high, so that the manufacturing cost is low.

Referring to fig. 10 and 11 together, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a head-mounted device disclosed in the second aspect of the present application, fig. 11 is an exploded schematic structural diagram of the head-mounted device disclosed in the second aspect of the present application, the second aspect of the present application discloses a head-mounted device 2, and the head-mounted device 2 may include, but is not limited to, glasses (such as goggles, swimming glasses, near-sighted glasses, presbyopic glasses, etc.) with an AR (Augmented Reality) display function, a helmet, a mask, etc. In particular, the head mounted device 2 comprises a support 20, a light emitting element 21 and a waveguide structure 1 as described above in relation to the first aspect. The support 20 is used for wearing on the head of a user, the light emitting element 21 and the waveguide structure 1 are both disposed on the support 20, and the light emitting element 21 is used for emitting light toward the light entering region 100 of the waveguide sheet 10 to project light, wherein fig. 10 and 11 show the structure of the head-mounted device 2 by taking the head-mounted device 2 as an AR glasses.

Through using the embodiment of the utility model provides a waveguide structure 1 that the first aspect is disclosed, AR that can make head mounted device 2 shows the degree of consistency height, shows luminance height, and display quality is good, and head mounted device 2's performance is good. Further, since the manufacturing cost of the waveguide structure 1 is low, the manufacturing cost of the structure of the head-mounted device 2 can be reduced.

In order to make the Light Emitting element 21 capable of Emitting Light and the emitted Light capable of displaying patterns, texts, etc. for the waveguide structure to receive, conduct and emit towards the eyes of the user for display, the Light Emitting element 21 may optionally include, but is not limited to, a Micro-LED (Micro-Light Emitting Diode) panel or a projection Light engine, etc.

Taking the head-mounted device 2 as AR glasses for example, the AR glasses generally include spectacle lenses, a spectacle frame and spectacle legs, the spectacle lenses are disposed on the spectacle frame, and the spectacle legs are connected to one side of the spectacle frame. The frame support 20 may be formed as at least a part of a frame and a temple of the AR glasses, the waveguide structure 1 may be formed as at least a part of a spectacle lens of the glasses, the light incident region 100 of the waveguide structure 1 is located at a side for connecting to the temple, the light emitting part of the waveguide structure 1 is used for projecting light to eyes of a user wearing the glasses, the projection lens and the light emitting part 21 may be located inside the temple and located at one end of the temple for connecting to the frame, and the temple of the glasses and the inside of the frame may be communicated to enable the light projected by the projection lens to be emitted to the light incident region 100 of the waveguide structure 1.

It will be appreciated that, since the waveguide structure 1 is used to project light corresponding to one eye of the user to project an image, in order to enable both eyes of the user to see the image projected by the waveguide structure 1, the head-mounted device 2 may comprise two waveguide structures 1, and the two waveguide structures 1 are respectively used to project images to both eyes of the user.

The waveguide structure and the head-mounted device disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above, and the principles and embodiments of the present invention are explained herein by using specific examples, and the description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the waveguide structure and the head-mounted device and their core ideas of the present invention; meanwhile, for the general technical personnel in the field, according to the idea of the present invention, there are changes in the specific implementation and application scope, and in summary, the content of the present specification should not be understood as the limitation of the present invention.

Claims

1. A waveguide structure, comprising:

a waveguide sheet having a first end and a second end opposite to each other, and a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other and connected to the first end and the second end, the waveguide sheet further having a light entrance region and a light exit region, the light entrance region being located at the first end, the light exit region being located at the second end, and the light exit region being located on the second surface;

2. A waveguide structure according to claim 1, wherein the reflective layer has a reflectivity Rp of 40% Rp 100%.

3. A waveguide structure according to claim 2, wherein the thickness h of the reflective layer increases gradually from the first end to the second end such that the reflectivity of the reflective layer increases gradually in a direction from the first end to the second end, the thickness h of the reflective layer satisfying: h is more than or equal to 20nm and less than or equal to 150 nm.

4. A waveguide structure according to claim 1, wherein the optical microstructure has a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface, the first reflective surface is configured to transmit a portion of the light to exit the waveguide structure and reflect the remaining light to the second reflective surface, the second reflective surface is configured to receive the remaining light exiting from the first reflective surface and reflect the remaining light to the reflective layer, and the first reflective surface and the second surface form a predetermined included angle such that the angle of the exiting light is within a predetermined range.

5. The waveguide structure of claim 4, wherein the optical microstructure has a plurality of the first reflective surfaces and a plurality of the second reflective surfaces, each of the first reflective surfaces is disposed in one-to-one correspondence with each of the second reflective surfaces, each of the first reflective surfaces is respectively configured to correspond to the light rays propagating along each of the different directions, so that a part of the corresponding light rays can be transmitted to exit the waveguide structure and reflect the remaining light rays to the corresponding second reflective surfaces, and the second reflective surfaces are configured to receive the remaining light rays exiting from the corresponding first reflective surfaces and reflect the remaining light rays to the reflective layers.

6. A waveguide structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the structural reflectivity of each optical microstructure is Rq, and decreases progressively from the first end to the second end.

7. A waveguide structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the reflective layer comprises a plurality of reflective elements arranged in a spaced array.

8. The waveguide structure of claim 7, wherein any adjacent plurality of the reflective units enclose a polygonal region, a projection of each of the optical microstructures on the first surface is located in the corresponding polygonal region, and the optical microstructures are disposed near a middle of the polygonal region.

9. The waveguide structure of claim 8, wherein, of the reflective units enclosing the polygonal region, a portion of the reflective units are located on a side of the corresponding optical microstructure facing a first end, and the center-to-center distances between the portion of the reflective units and the optical microstructures are all a1, the remaining reflective units are located on a side of the corresponding optical microstructure facing a second end, and the center-to-center distances between the remaining reflective units and the optical microstructures are all a2, a1 ≠ a 2.

10. A head-mounted apparatus, comprising a support, a light-emitting element and the waveguide structure according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the support is adapted to be worn on the head of a user, the light-emitting element and the waveguide structure are both disposed on the support, and the light-emitting element is adapted to emit light toward the light-incident region of the waveguide sheet to project light.