Eye tracking using reverse-biased light-emitting diode devices

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at an light-emitting diode (LED) device of a viewing apparatus, light reflected from an eye, the LED device being reverse-biased and positioned within a field-of-view of the eye, the LED device having a p-type semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer enclosed within a mesa-shaped semiconductor structure, wherein the light is intensified by the mesa-shaped semiconductor structure;

generating, at the reverse-biased LED device, a signal based on the intensified light; and

causing determination of a position of the eye based on the generated signal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the LED device is a first LED device; and

wherein the method further comprises:

prior to receiving the light, transmitting the light toward the eye from a second LED device that is forward-biased.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the LED device is forward-biased at a first time to transmit the light to the eye; and

wherein the LED is reverse-biased at a second time to receive the light reflected from the eye.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reverse-biased LED device is positioned on a transparent substrate in front of the eye.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the transparent substrate is a layer of a lens of the viewing apparatus.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing determination of the position of the eye comprises:

determining, based on the signal an approximate position of the eye;

refining the approximate position of the eye based on data collected from a non-LED sensor; and

determining the position of the eye based on the refined approximate position.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reverse-biased LED device is included in an array of reverse-biased LED devices positioned within the field-of-view.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viewing apparatus is part of an artificial reality device.

9. A viewing apparatus comprising:

an light-emitting diode (LED) device positioned within a field-of-view of an eye, the LED device being reverse-biased and having a p-type semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer enclosed within a mesa-shaped semiconductor structure and being configured to:

receive light reflected from the eye, the received light being intensified by the mesa-shaped semiconductor structure;

generate a signal based on the intensified light; and

cause determination of a position of the eye based on the generated signal.

10. The viewing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the LED device is a first LED device; and

wherein the viewing apparatus further includes second LED device, the second LED device being forward-biased and configured to transmit the light toward the eye prior to the reverse-biased second LED device receiving the light.

11. The viewing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the LED device is forward-biased at a first time to transmit the light to the eye; and

wherein the LED device is reversed-biased at a second time to receive the light reflected from the eye.

12. The viewing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the reverse-biased LED device is positioned on a transparent substrate in front of the eye.

13. The viewing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the transparent substrate is a layer of a lens of the viewing apparatus.

14. The viewing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the position of the eye is determined based on:

determining, based on the signal an approximate position of the eye;

refining the approximate position of the eye based on data collected from a non-LED sensor; and

determining the position of the eye based on the refined approximate position.

15. The viewing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the reverse-biased LED device is included in an array of reverse-biased LED devices positioned within the field-of-view.

16. The viewing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the viewing apparatus is part of an artificial reality device.

17. A system comprising:

light-emitting diode (LED) device positioned within a field-of-view of an eye, the LED device being reverse-biased and having a p-type semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer enclosed within a mesa-shaped semiconductor structure and being configured to:

receive light reflected from the eye, the received light being intensified by the mesa-shaped semiconductor structure;

generate a signal based on the intensified light; and

cause determination of a position of the eye based on the generated signal.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the LED device is a first LED device;

wherein the viewing apparatus further a second LED device, the second LED device being forward-biased and configured to transmit the light toward the eye prior to the reverse-biased second LED device receiving the light.

19. The system of claim 17 , where the mesa-shaped semiconductor structure is configured to, when the LED device is forward-biased to generate the light, reflect the light out of the mesa-shaped semiconductor structure as collimated light.

20. The system of claim 17 , further comprising:

an array of reverse-biased LED devices configured to generate signals, each signal from each reversed-biased LED device representing an intensity of light received by the reverse-biased LED device; and

a controller configured to determine a position of the eye based on identifying, based on the signals, a subset of the reverse-biased LED devices that receives the light of the lowest intensity within the array of reverse-biased LED devices.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the controller is configured to:

generate content based on the position of the eye; and

output the content to a display device for display.