High resolution reflective polarizer lens for catadioptric VR optics with accommodating eye box design

Abstract

Polarized catadioptric optics systems are an emerging solution for virtual reality (VR) head mounted displays (HMD). A good VR optical system should have a large pupil volume to tolerate multiple interpupillary distances and to accommodate eye rotation as the user scans across the field of view (FOV). In this paper we review the 3M™ High Acuity Reflective Polarizer (HARP) optical lens and module. We present empirical and modeling data for lens module performance including MTF as functions of pupil rotation, decenter, and diopter adjustment range. The large eye box and decentering tolerance yields a natural viewing experience. 3M™ HARP optics demonstrates the promise of pancake optic designs to deliver realistic immersive VR experience.

High‐efficiency and ultracompact pancake optics for virtual reality

“…To enhance optical efficiency further, strategies such as applying an antireflection coating (<0.25%) on the substrate and utilizing high‐performance RP films like 3M™ RPs 18 with 99.9% transmittance in the pass state and 99.9% reflectance in the block state can significantly boost the efficiency to around 93.2%, which is approximately four times higher than that of conventional pancake lenses.…”

43‐3: Distinguished Paper: Breaking the Optical Efficiency Limit of Pancake Optics in Virtual Reality

“…This ~5% difference may be attributed to the diffraction of the laser beam. By applying an antireflection coating (<0.25%) on the substrate and employing a high-performance RP film like 3MTM RPs [8], which has 99.9% transmittance in the pass state and 99.9% reflectance in the block state, the optical efficiency can be significantly improved to 93.2%, which is ~4x higher than the conventional pancake lens. In addition to the above-mentioned laser projector, we also investigated our pancake systems with a micro-OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panel, which has a wider spectrum.…”

“…Figure 1(a) shows the device configuration of a conventional pancake optics system along with its essential components. Such a pancake optics not only delivers an exceptional image quality [8] but also offers an appealing formfactor. By folding the light path three times within the cavity, these systems attain a shorter focal length, resulting in a significantly reduced volume.…”