Compact design for optical-see-through holographic displays employing holographic optical elements.

Holographic AR display is a promising technology for head-mounted display devices. However, it usually has a complicated optical system and a large form factor, preventing it from widespread applications. In this work, we propose a flat-panel design to produce a compact holographic AR display, where traditional optical elements are replaced by two holographic optical elements (HOEs). Here, these two thin HOEs together perform the optical functions of a beam expander, an ocular lens, and an optical combiner. Without any bulky traditional optics, our design could achieve a compact form factor that is similar to a pair of glasses. We also implemented a proof-of-concept prototype to verify its feasibility. Being compact, lightweight and free from accommodation-convergence discrepancy, our design is promising for fatigue-free AR displays.