CN218675531U

CN218675531U - Optical device and AR device including the same

Info

Publication number: CN218675531U
Application number: CN202223540345.5U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨乐宝; 金贤敏
Original assignee: Wuxi Photonic Chip Joint Research Center
Current assignee: Wuxi Photonic Chip Joint Research Center
Priority date: 2022-12-29
Filing date: 2022-12-29
Publication date: 2023-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 2032-12-29

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application relate to optical devices and AR devices including the same. An optical device according to some embodiments of the present application, characterized in that: it includes: an opto-mechanical unit; a prism waveguide comprising a plurality of prisms, adjacent prisms of the plurality of prisms having prism interfaces formed therebetween; optical units respectively disposed at both ends of the prism waveguide, the optical units including a first prism interface, a first 1/4 wave plate, and a first lens; and the light splitting unit comprises a second prism interface and a second 1/4 wave plate positioned below the second prism interface, so that the light emitted by the optical-mechanical unit is split into reflected light which is respectively emitted into the two ends of the prism waveguide, and the reflected light is reflected into output light through the optical units at the two ends of the prism waveguide. Other embodiments of the present application also provide an AR apparatus. The optical device and the AR device comprising the same provided by the embodiment of the application can effectively solve the problems encountered in the traditional technology.

Description

Optical device and AR device including the same

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present application relate generally to optical waveguides, and more particularly, to optical devices and AR devices including the same.

Background

At present, most optical waveguides adopt one-way light transmission, optical waveguide structures need to be designed respectively according to light requirements in different directions, the required materials are more, the corresponding process is complex, and the calibration is difficult.

Accordingly, the present application provides an optical device and an AR device including the same.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

An object of the embodiments of the present application is to provide an optical device and an AR device including the same, which can reduce material cost, and simultaneously achieve imaging on left and right sides without binocular fusion calibration cost, compared with the conventional method.

The embodiment of the application provides an optical device, its characterized in that: it includes: an opto-mechanical unit; a prism waveguide comprising a plurality of prisms, adjacent ones of the plurality of prisms forming a prism interface therebetween; optical units respectively disposed at both ends of the prism waveguide, the optical units including a first prism interface, a first 1/4 wave plate, and a first lens; and the light splitting unit comprises a second prism interface and a second 1/4 wave plate positioned below the second prism interface so as to split the light emitted by the optical-mechanical unit into reflected light which is respectively emitted into two ends of the prism waveguide, and the reflected light is reflected into output light by the optical units at the two ends of the prism waveguide.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the reflected light includes a first reflected light incident into one of the two ends of the prism waveguide and a second reflected light incident into the other of the two ends of the prism waveguide, and a transmission distance of the second reflected light in the prism waveguide generated sequentially via the second 1/4 wave plate and the second prism interface is shorter than a transmission distance of the first reflected light in the prism waveguide.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the prism waveguide includes a first prism and a second prism, the first prism and the second prism being attached at a second prism interface.

According to some embodiments of the present application, either end of the two ends of the prism waveguide comprises a third prism and a fourth prism, the third prism and the fourth prism being adjoined at a first prism interface.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the prism waveguide further comprises a prism assembly between the fourth prisms at both ends of the prism waveguide, the prism assembly comprising a fifth prism and a sixth prism, the fifth prism and the sixth prism being attached at a second prism interface. The thickness of the prism assembly is less than that of the fourth prism.

According to further embodiments of the present application, the optical-mechanical unit includes a microscope and a second lens positioned between the microscope and the light-splitting unit.

According to still further embodiments of the present application, the angle of the prism that conforms at the first prism interface is less than 90 degrees.

Still other embodiments of the present application provide an AR apparatus, characterized in that: which comprises a substrate and the optical device on the substrate.

Compared with the prior art, the optical device and the AR device comprising the same adopt the prism waveguide and the light splitting unit, so that light transmission in two directions is realized, the material cost is saved, and the process is simple.

Drawings

Drawings necessary for describing embodiments of the present application or the prior art will be briefly described below in order to describe the embodiments of the present application. It is to be understood that the drawings in the following description are of some example only. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments of the drawings can be obtained from the structures illustrated in these drawings without the need for inventive work.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical device 100 according to some embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of optical devices, respectively, according to further embodiments of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to better understand the spirit of the embodiments of the present application, the following further description is given in conjunction with some preferred embodiments of the present application.

Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below. Throughout the specification, the same or similar components and components having the same or similar functions are denoted by like reference numerals. The embodiments described herein with respect to the figures are illustrative in nature, are diagrammatic in nature, and are used to provide a basic understanding of the present application. The embodiments of the present application should not be construed as limiting the present application.

As used herein, the terms "substantially", "substantially" and "about" are used to describe and illustrate minor variations. When used in conjunction with an event or circumstance, the terms can refer to instances where the event or circumstance occurs precisely as well as instances where the event or circumstance occurs in close proximity. For example, when used in conjunction with numerical values, the term can refer to a range of variation that is less than or equal to ± 10% of the stated numerical value, such as less than or equal to ± 5%, less than or equal to ± 4%, less than or equal to ± 3%, less than or equal to ± 2%, less than or equal to ± 1%, less than or equal to ± 0.5%, less than or equal to ± 0.1%, or less than or equal to ± 0.05%. For example, two numerical values are considered to be "substantially" identical if the difference between the two numerical values is less than or equal to ± 10% (e.g., less than or equal to ± 5%, less than or equal to ± 4%, less than or equal to ± 3%, less than or equal to ± 2%, less than or equal to ± 1%, less than or equal to ± 0.5%, less than or equal to ± 0.1%, or less than or equal to ± 0.05%) of the mean of the values.

In this specification, unless specified or limited otherwise, relative terms such as: the terms "vertical," "lateral," "upper," "lower," and derivatives thereof (e.g., "upper surface," etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described in the discussion or as shown in the drawings. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the present application be constructed or operated in a particular orientation.

Additionally, amounts, ratios, and other numerical values are sometimes presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such range format is used for convenience and brevity, and should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited.

For convenience of description, "first," "second," and the like may be used herein to distinguish one element or series of elements from another. "first," "second," and the like are not intended to describe corresponding components or operations.

Some embodiments of the present application provide an optical device 100 comprising: an opto-mechanical unit 130; a prism waveguide 150 including a plurality of prisms, adjacent prisms of the plurality of prisms having prism interfaces formed therebetween; an optical unit 105 respectively disposed at both ends (first end 110 and second end 120) of the prism waveguide 150, the optical unit 105 including a first prism interface 101, a first 1/4 wave plate 102, and a first lens 103; and a light splitting unit 132 including a second prism interface 133 and a second 1/4 wave plate 134 located below the second prism interface 133 to split the light emitted from the optical mechanical unit 130 into reflected light (first reflected light 10 and second reflected light 11) respectively entering both ends of the prism waveguide 150, and reflect the light as output light (first output light 20 and second output light 21) through the optical unit 105 at both ends of the optical device 100.

Because the prism is copied by the mold at present, the processing precision is very high, and the angle of the prism can be accurately controlled to obtain the required reflected light. The prisms are connected only through bonding, the alignment error is low, and bonding can be performed through bonding, so that dislocation is avoided during transportation or use, the accuracy continuity is better, and the prism unit can be manufactured through direct assembling and bonding under low accuracy. Thus, the assembly tolerances of the optical device itself ensure that the requirements for the output light are met.

The first prism interface 101 is a polarization splitting plane, transmits S-state polarized light, and reflects P-state polarized light.

The thickness of the prism waveguide 150 may be very thick, for example, the thickness of the prism may be set to about 25 mm to achieve the desired light reflection in the prism waveguide.

The optomechanical unit 130 may include a micro display 131 (which may be a μ OLED or a μ LED), a prism waveguide 150 for transmitting light emitted from the micro display, and a light splitting unit for splitting the light emitted from the micro display to generate reflected light respectively incident on both ends of the prism waveguide.

According to some embodiments of the application, the opto-mechanical unit further comprises a lens assembly, for example a second lens or a flat glass, between the microscopic and the beam splitting unit, which lens assembly takes over the function of correcting chromatic aberrations, which flat glass may also correct chromatic aberrations, which lens assembly may not be used when the microscopic is monochromatic.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the reflected light includes a first reflected light 10 incident on the first end 110 of the two ends of the prism waveguide 150 and a second reflected light 11 incident on the other end (i.e., the second end 120) of the two ends of the prism waveguide 150, and a transmission distance of the second reflected light 11 in the optical device 100 generated sequentially through the second 1/4 wave plate 134 and the second prism interface 133 is smaller than a transmission distance of the first reflected light 10 in the optical device 100, because the light emitted from the micro-display 131 is split when passing through the second prism interface 133 to generate a first reflected light 10 and a first transmitted light 12, the first reflected light 10 is directly reflected to the first end 110, and the first transmitted light 12 generates the second reflected light 11 incident on the second end 120 through the second 1/4 wave plate 134 and the second prism interface 133, which is partially farther than the first reflected light 10, and therefore, the two ends of the prism waveguide are at different distances from the optical unit.

The second prism interface 133 can be a polarization splitting surface, and can transmit P-polarized light and reflect S-polarized light, unlike the polarization splitting of the first prism interface 101.

The light emitted from the micro-display 131 passes through the second prism interface 133, is split into P-state polarized light, and then enters the second 1/4 wave plate 134, is reflected at the lower surface thereof, and enters the second prism interface 133 again, at this time, the polarization state is converted into S-state polarized light. The second reflected light 11 is reflected by the second prism interface 133 and enters the optical unit 105 at the second end 120, the first reflected light 10 passes through the first prism interface 101, then passes through the first 1/4 wave plate 102 and the first lens 103, is reflected by the left surface of the first lens 103, and after being transmitted through the first 1/4 wave plate 102 again, the polarization state is converted into P-state polarized light, and after being reflected by the first prism interface 101, the P-state polarized light is transmitted out of the optical device to become first output light 20, and finally, the first output light can enter human eyes.

Similarly, the second reflected light 11 is transmitted out of the optical device through the optical unit 105 as second output light 21, which may ultimately be incident on the other eye of the person.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the prism waveguide 150 includes a first prism 151 and a second prism 152, the first prism 151 and the second prism 152 being attached at a second prism interface 133.

According to some embodiments of the present application, either end of the prism waveguide 150, for example the first end 110 in fig. 2, includes a third prism 153 and a fourth prism 154, the third and

fourth prisms

153 and 154 being adjoined at the first prism interface 101.

To facilitate the process, both ends of the prism waveguide may be generally disposed in the same structure, and a separate prism assembly may be disposed between the fourth prisms at both ends of the prism waveguide, as shown in fig. 2, and the prism assembly may include a fifth prism 156 and a sixth prism 157, and the fifth prism 156 and the sixth prism 157 are attached at the second prism interface 133.

According to other embodiments of the present application, it is sometimes necessary to shorten the optical path of light (the optical-mechanical unit size is small after the optical path is shortened), which is very important in practical design. One of the methods of reducing the optical path length is to reduce the propagation distance of light in the prism waveguide so that the light propagates more in the air. For example, as shown in fig. 3, the middle prism assembly may be reduced such that the thickness of the prism assembly is smaller than that of the fourth prism, and the lens assembly 135 of the optical mechanical unit 130 may be placed into the middle prism assembly when appropriate.

According to still further embodiments of the present application, the angle θ of the prisms attached at the first prism interface 101 is less than 90 degrees, and as shown in fig. 3, the angle θ of the prisms ranges from about 20 ° to about 70 °.

Further embodiments of the present application also provide an AR (augmented reality) device comprising a substrate and an optical device according to the foregoing on the substrate, the first output light 20 and the second output light 21 entering the two eyes of the person, respectively.

The utility model provides a AR device can convert present monocular optical module of other companies into dual-purpose optical module, can reduce an optical-mechanical unit in the material cost, does not have the binocular simultaneously and fuses the calibration cost, not only can solve the alignment problem of controlling the eye, can also improve the product yield.

The proper placement position of the micro-display can be selected according to specific requirements, for example, the micro-display can be placed in front of or behind the forehead, and can also be placed at the upper end or the lower end of the forehead. Place can be better some at upper end or lower extreme, if the little demonstration is put inboard at the forehead, the fever of little demonstration can influence and wear experience, and the distance of wearing simultaneously will be pulled far away.

Furthermore, to fit the human double pupil distance, and to try to make the opto-mechanical unit small (in the case of constant FOV), the exit pupil distance can be extended with the FOV in agreement.

The technical content and technical features of the present application have been disclosed as above, however, those skilled in the art may still make various substitutions and modifications based on the teaching and disclosure of the present application without departing from the spirit of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should not be limited to the disclosure of the embodiments, but should include various alternatives and modifications without departing from the scope of the present application, which is covered by the claims of the present patent application.

Claims

1. An optical device, characterized by: it includes:

an opto-mechanical unit;

a prism waveguide comprising a plurality of prisms, adjacent prisms of the plurality of prisms having prism interfaces formed therebetween;

optical units respectively disposed at both ends of the prism waveguide, the optical units including a first prism interface, a first 1/4 wave plate, and a first lens; and

and the light splitting unit comprises a second prism interface and a second 1/4 wave plate positioned below the second prism interface so as to split the light emitted by the optical machine unit into reflected light which is respectively emitted into the two ends of the prism waveguide, and the reflected light is reflected into output light through the optical units at the two ends of the prism waveguide.

2. The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the reflected light includes a first reflected light incident on one of both ends of the prism waveguide and a second reflected light incident on the other of both ends of the prism waveguide, and a transmission distance of the second reflected light in the prism waveguide generated sequentially via the second 1/4 wave plate and the second prism interface is shorter than a transmission distance of the first reflected light in the prism waveguide.

3. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the prism waveguide comprises a first prism and a second prism, the first prism and the second prism being attached at the second prism interface.

4. The optical device of claim 1, wherein either end of the prism waveguide comprises a third prism and a fourth prism, the third prism and the fourth prism being adjoined at the first prism interface.

5. The optical device of claim 4, wherein the prism waveguide further comprises a prism assembly between fourth prisms at opposite ends of the prism waveguide, the prism assembly comprising a fifth prism and a sixth prism, the fifth prism and the sixth prism abutting at the second prism interface.

6. The optical device of claim 5, wherein a thickness of the prism assembly is less than a thickness of the fourth prism.

7. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the opto-mechanical unit comprises a micro-display and a second lens positioned between the micro-display and the light splitting unit.

8. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the angle of the prism that conforms at the first prism interface is less than 90 degrees.

9. An AR device, characterized by: comprising a substrate and an optical device according to any of the preceding claims 1-8 on said substrate.