Optical see-through Maxwellian near-to-eye display with an enlarged eyebox.

Abstract

We propose a Maxwellian near-to-eye display implemented using a multiplexed holographic optical element. Maxwellian configuration removes the focal cue of the displayed virtual image completely, presenting an always-focused image to the observer regardless of the focal length of the eye. The transparent property of the holographic optical element enables the optical see-through feature, making the proposed near-to-eye display suitable for augmented reality applications. The multiplexing of multiple concave mirrors into a single holographic optical element enlarges the effective eyebox, relaxing the limitation of the conventional Maxwellian displays. Optical experiment confirms that the proposed display can present always-focused images on top of the real environment with 9.2°(H)×5.2°(V) field of view, and 9 mm (H)×3 mm (V) eyebox.