Synthetic aperture waveguide holography for compact mixed-reality displays with large étendue

Mixed-reality (MR) display systems enable transformative user experiences across various domains, including communication, education, training and entertainment. To create an immersive and accessible experience, the display engine of the MR display must project perceptually realistic 3D images over a wide field of view observable from a large range of possible pupil positions, that is, it must support a large étendue. Current MR displays, however, fall short in delivering these capabilities in a compact device form factor. Here we present an ultra-thin MR display design that overcomes these challenges using a unique combination of waveguide holography and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven holography algorithms. One of the key innovations of our display system is a compact, custom-designed waveguide for holographic near-eye displays that supports a large effective étendue. This is co-designed with an AI-based algorithmic framework combining an implicit large-étendue waveguide model, an efficient wave propagation model for partially coherent mutual intensity and a computer-generated holography framework. Together, our unique co-design of a waveguide holography system and AI-driven holographic algorithms represents an important advancement in creating visually comfortable and perceptually realistic 3D MR experiences in a compact wearable device.