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In this work an entirely solid‐state multi‐focal display architecture for augmented reality near‐eye displays is introduced and analyzed. At the core of the solution is volumetric display module with discrete image depth planes as means of mitigating vergence‐accommodation conflict in stereoscopic systems and enabling safe near‐3D‐content output. The physical image depth planes are realized as switchable liquid‐crystal based optical diffuser elements. Our analysis includes evaluation of the role of a cell‐gap and spacers on a resultant image quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmenting reality (AR) holds many benefits in how people perceive information and use it in their workflow or leisure activities. A cohesive AR experience has many components; nevertheless, the key is display technologies. The current industry standard for the core solution is still conventional stereoscopy, which has proven to be inadequate for near-work due to the caused vergence–accommodation conflict and the inability to precisely overlay the 3D content on the real world. To overcome this, next-generation technologies have been proposed. While the holographic method holds the highest potential of being the ultimate solution, its current level of maturity is not sufficient to yield a practical product. Consequently, the next solution for near-work-capable AR displays will be of another type. LightSpace Technologies have developed a static multifocal display architecture based on stacked liquid crystal-based optical diffuser elements and a synchronized high-refresh rate image projector. A stream of 2D image depth planes comprising a 3D scene is projected onto respective physically-separated diffuser elements, causing the viewer to perceive a scene as continuous and having all relevant physical as well as psychological depth cues. A system with six image depth planes yielding 6 cpd resolution and 72° horizontal field-of-view has been demonstrated to provide perceptually continuous accommodation over 3.2 Diopter range. A further optimization by using a conventional image combiner resulted in the compact and practical design of the AR display. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]