HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY WITH VOLUME SUBSTRATE-GUIDED HOLOGRAPHIC CONTINUOUS LENS OPTICS

1 . A holographic substrate-guided head-mounted see-through display comprising:

(a) an image source comprising a scanning laser beam or a microdisplay with laser illumination;

(b) an edge-illuminated transparent substrate;

(c) a single volume substrate-guided holographic continuous lens (SGHCL); and

(d) a diffuser;

wherein the scanning laser beam creates an image on the diffuser, and

wherein upon playback, an incident guided beam experiences total internal reflection and hits the SGHCL at Bragg condition.

2 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted see-through display of claim 1 wherein:

(a) the image source comprises a microdisplay with laser-based illumination;

(b) the edge-illuminated transparent substrate comprises an angled edge or an index-matched transparent prism, and;

(c) the single volume SGHCL comprises a reflection SGHCL, which is index-matched to the substrate, and which is rotated 180° around a perpendicular axis of symmetry passing through the center of the SGHCL.

3 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a thickness of about 3-6 mm.

4 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 2 wherein the substrate and the prism each comprise glass, quartz, acrylic plastic, polycarbonate plastic, or a mixture thereof.

5 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a single plate or multiple plates.

6 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a 15°-25° angled edge or a 15°-25° index-matched prism.

7 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the microdisplay comprises a laser-illuminated monochrome or an RGB (full color) liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), digital light processing (DLP), or liquid crystal display (LCD).

8 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein a side of the substrate, opposite to an eye of the viewer, comprises an anti-reflective coating.

9 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a curved shape.

10 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises prescription glasses.

11 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a unitary body or a plurality of bodies made of the same material or different materials.

12 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein one or more edges of the substrate comprise a light absorptive coating.

13 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the microdisplay is directly attached to the substrate or comprises a gap relative to the substrate.

14 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the SGHCL comprises a first side and a second side opposite to the first side;

and wherein, upon playback, the SGHCL has a diffracted beam on the first side and has a playback beam on the second side.

15 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein, upon playback, the SGHCL has a diffracted beam and a playback beam on a same side.

16 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a shape including rectangular, oval, circular, tear-drop, hexagon, rectangular with rounded corners, square, or a mixture thereof.

17 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 wherein a retrieved image comprises a monochrome or RGB (full-color) image.

18 . The holographic substrate-guided head-mounted display of claim 1 comprising a focused, modulated, scanning laser beam and a diffuser.

19 . A method of recording a volume reflection SGHCL comprising shining two beams onto a holographic polymer index-matched to a substrate, wherein a first recording beam is guided from an edge of the substrate and convergent to a first focus point and a second recording beam is a divergent beam, and wherein both beams cover the holographic polymer.

20 . The method of recording the volume reflection SGHCL of claim 19 wherein the substrate is index-matched to a first rectangular block having an angled edge or an index-matched prism;

wherein a first recording beam is guided and convergent with focus in a recording point O 1 using a long focus lens and a second recording beam is divergent with focus O 2 , in a plane created by a high numerical aperture lens;

wherein a second rectangular block is placed underneath the holographic polymer to avoid total internal reflection of a guided beam back from a bottom surface of the holographic polymer to avoid recording unwanted transmission SGHCL;

wherein the recording convergent beam comprises angles with the substrate and holographic polymer less than or equal to about 48°;

wherein a reliable guided angle is greater than about 12°;

wherein a microdisplay or focused laser beams are positioned at equivalent focus of the recording convergent beam and the divergent beam;

wherein a cylinder lens is used in the convergent recording beam to minimize aberrations;

wherein a position, tilt and focus of the cylinder lens are adjusted to minimize aberrations;

wherein an HMD image comprises a virtual image coming from infinity; and

wherein a minimum angle of a convergent beam with a holographic polymer surface comprises about 14° and a maximal angle of the convergent beam with the holographic polymer surface comprises about 31° with a central beam having 15°-25° angle.

21 . A recording system for a reflection RGB SGHCL comprising:

a) a glass substrate;

b) a thin holographic polymer laminated to the glass substrate;

c) a first glass block attached to the holographic polymer wherein the first glass block is index matched to the glass substrate;

d) a wedged prism attached to the first glass block on a side of the first glass block that is adjacent to the glass substrate;

e) a long focus spherical achromatic lens attached to the wedged prism;

f) a cylinder lens near the spherical achromatic lens;

g) a second glass block attached to the glass substrate;

h) a lens with large numerical aperture in the vicinity of the second glass block; and

i) two collimated RGB recording beams, wherein a first recording beam is convergent in a vertical plane focused in point O 1 using the long focus spherical achromatic lens, which eliminates astigmatism; wherein a second RGB recording beam is divergent with focus in point O 2 created by the lens with large numerical aperture.

22 . Smart glasses comprising:

a) a frame having two side arms;

b) prescription lenses having an absorptive layer on one side;

c) a battery within the side arm;

d) earphones within the side arm;

e) a laser projector for projecting laser beams located within the side arm;

f) a scanner within the side arm;

g) a turning mirror within the frame for redirecting the path of the laser beams;

h) a diffuser adjacent to the prescription lenses; and

i) a substrate-guided-holographic continuous lens integrated with the prescription lenses;

wherein the diffuser with the image serves as the image source.