Design Tools for Lightguide Layouts with 1D-1D EPE

The design of light-guiding devices for augmented- and mixed-reality applications is famously challenging, due to the total mix-up of angular and spectral modes and a vast number of free parameters in the system, what makes a “brute-force” approach to parametric optimization pretty much an impossibility. The fast physical optics modeling and design software VirtualLab Fusion with its Light Guide Toolbox Gold Edition puts at your disposal several systematic design tools that help the optical engineer tackle the design process step by step and in a more controlled manner. These systematic design tools cover the layout of the device as well as the grating parameters in the coupling and EPE regions.

Here, we focus on two layout-related tools: k-Layout Visualization and Layout Design, applicable for devices with a separable 1D-1D pupil expansion and 1D-periodic grating structures, like Hololens 1. Take a look at the use cases below to learn more about their exciting potential!