IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,627,879
Granted Patent B2
US 12,627,879 · App. 18/906,604 · Granted May 12, 2026

Near infrared (NIR) transparent organic light emitting diode (OLED) display

Inventor: Dennis Castleman (San Mateo, CA)
Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC
H04N23/57G06F3/013G09G3/3208H04N5/06H04N23/56G09G2310/08G09G2354/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,627,879
App. No.
18/906,604
Granted
May 12, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A micro-OLED display includes a substrate with a coating made of IR-transparent material such as Zinc Selenide or Zinc Sulfide to allow a pupil tracking camera, which may include photodiodes, to be mounted directly behind the display. The coating is transparent to near infrared (NIR) radiation but opaque to visible light.

Claims (20)

1 . A method, comprising:

causing a display of a head-mounted display (HMD) to present frames of demanded images, wherein causing the display of the HMD to present the frames comprises scanning lines of the display in frame rendering periods, wherein the frame rendering periods comprises a first frame rendering period for presenting a first frame of the frames on the display and a second frame rendering period for presenting a second frame of the frames on the display; and

causing a camera to capture at least one image in a period that begins after the first frame rendering period and ends during the second frame rendering period.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the camera to capture the at least one image comprises irradiating an area within a field of view of the camera with infrared (IR) light during at least a portion of the period.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein irradiating the area within the field of view of the camera with the infrared (IR) light comprises irradiating a pupil of an eye of a user with the infrared (IR) light.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing the at least one image to a machine-learning model.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the HMD comprises a plurality of layers, and wherein the camera is juxtaposed with an outer surface of a layer of the plurality of layers.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the layer is a substrate that is coated with a coating that is configured to allow infrared (IR) light to propagate through the layer while blocking visible light from propagating through the layer.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the period ends after a start of the second frame rendering period, and wherein one or more lines of the display are scanned in the second frame rendering period during a time the camera is energized.

8 . An apparatus comprising:

a camera; and

a plurality of layers, wherein the plurality of layers comprises an emissive layer, a substrate, and a plurality of intermediate layers between the emissive layer and the substrate, wherein a coating is deposited on an outer surface of the substrate, wherein the emissive layer comprises a plurality of organic light-emitting diodes, and wherein the coating is configured to allow infrared light to propagate through the coating to the camera and to block visible light emitted from the emissive layer from propagating through the coating.

9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured to: (i) cause the apparatus to scan lines of a display in frame rendering periods comprising a first frame rendering period for presenting a first frame on the display and a second frame rendering period for presenting a second frame on the display; and (ii) cause the camera to capture at least one image in a period that begins after the first frame rendering period and ends during the second frame rendering period.

10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the period ends after a start of the second frame rendering period, and wherein one or more lines of the display are scanned in the second frame rendering period during a time the camera is energized.

11 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide the at least one image to a machine-learning model.

12 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to irradiate an area within a field of view of the camera with infrared (IR) light during at least a portion of the period.

13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein irradiating the area within the field of view of the camera with the infrared (IR) light comprises irradiating a pupil of an eye of a user with the infrared (IR) light.

14 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the camera is juxtaposed with the outer surface.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 5, 2026
From: CASTLEMAN, DENNIS
To: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Reel/Frame 073981/0583 →
Continuity (2)
Division 17749523 · May 20, 2022
Related Publication 20250227354A1 · Jul 10, 2025
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