Pupil steering head-mounted display

1. A near-eye display system comprising:

an image projector comprising:

an image source configured to display a computer-generated image at a first image plane; and

an optical projector configured to project the computer-generated image to form an image of the computer-generated image on an intermediate image plane;

a deflector located at the intermediate image plane, wherein the deflector is configurable based on a location of a pupil of a user's eye to deflect incident light from the image to a corresponding direction; and

a relay optical subsystem configured to relay the image deflected by the deflector to an exit pupil of the near-eye display system, wherein a location of the exit pupil is at least partially determined by the corresponding direction of the incident light deflected by the deflector and at least partially overlaps with the location of the pupil of the user's eye.

2. The near-eye display system of claim 1 , wherein:

the relay optical subsystem is configured to collimate light from each area of the image; and

collimated light from different areas of the image exits the exit pupil at different angles.

3. The near-eye display system of claim 1 , wherein the deflector comprises a micro-mirror, a prism, a polarization grating, or a diffractive optical element.

4. The near-eye display system of claim 3 , further comprising an actuator, the actuator configured to, based on the location of the pupil of the user's eye:

rotate the deflector; or

adjust a phase delay pattern of the deflector.

5. The near-eye display system of claim 1 , wherein the relay optical subsystem comprises an optical combiner, the optical combiner configured to:

direct light deflected by the deflector to the exit pupil of the near-eye display system; and

allow visible light from a field of view in a physical environment to pass through.

6. The near-eye display system of claim 5 , wherein the optical combiner comprises a dichroic plate, a prism, a polarization beam combiner, a hologram, a diffractive optical element, or a meta-material combiner.

7. The near-eye display system of claim 6 , wherein the meta-material combiner comprises a meta-grating.

8. The near-eye display system of claim 7 , wherein:

a diffraction efficiency of the meta-grating is greater than 20% within a field of view of 40° for visible light; and

the meta-grating comprises an aperture pattern configured to allow visible light incident from an angular range to pass through.

9. The near-eye display system of claim 1 , further comprising:

an eye-tracking subsystem configured to measure the location of the pupil of the user's eye; and

an actuator configured to rotate the deflector based on the measured location of the pupil of the user's eye such that the pupil of the user's eye at least partially overlaps with the exit pupil of the near-eye display system.

10. The near-eye display system of claim 1 , further comprising:

an eye-tracking subsystem configured to measure the location of the pupil of the user's eye; and

a controller configured to adjust a phase delay pattern of the deflector based on the measured location of the pupil of the user's eye such that the pupil of the user's eye at least partially overlaps with the exit pupil of the near-eye display system.

11. An optical system, comprising:

an image source configured to display computer-generated images;

an optical projector configured to form an image of the image source on an intermediate image plane;

a steerable deflector at the intermediate image plane for deflecting light from the image to target directions; and

an optical combiner configured to:

combine the light from the image deflected by the steerable deflector and light from an environment of the optical system; and

direct the combined light to a pupil of a user's eye.

12. The optical system of claim 11 , further comprising:

a controller coupled to the steerable deflector, the controller configured to steer the steerable deflector based on a location of the pupil of the user's eye such that a resultant exit pupil of the optical system at least partially overlaps with the pupil of the user's eye.

13. The optical system of claim 11 , further comprising:

a collimation lens between the steerable deflector and the optical combiner, the collimation lens configured to collimate light from each area of the image.

14. The optical system of claim 11 , wherein the steerable deflector comprises a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirror.

15. The optical system of claim 11 , wherein the optical combiner comprises a dichroic plate, a prism, a polarization beam combiner, a hologram, a diffractive optical element, or a meta-grating.

16. A method of eye box steering in a near-eye display device, the method comprising:

determining a location of a pupil of an eye of a user of the near-eye display device;

displaying a computer-generated image (CGI) at a first image plane;

forming an image of the CGI on an intermediate image plane;

configuring a deflector at or near the intermediate image plane based on the determined location of the pupil of the eye of the user;

deflecting, by the deflector, light from the image of the CGI to a relay optic subsystem; and

relaying, by the relay optic subsystem, the image of the CGI to the location of the pupil of the eye of the user.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the relay optic subsystem, light from a field of view in a surrounding environment to the location of the pupil of the eye of the user.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein configuring the deflector based on the determined location of the pupil of the eye of the user comprises:

determining an rotation angle for the deflector based on the determined location of the pupil of the eye of the user such that a resultant exit pupil of the near-eye display device at least partially overlaps with the pupil of the eye of the user; and

rotating the deflector based on the determined rotation angle.