Optical components for waveguides: progress in manufacturing of reflectives and material innovation for diffractives

AR glasses combining ultimate image quality and uncompromised wearability … only wishful thinking or is there a clear path forward? Waveguides as the fundamental concept will get us there. Two waveguide approaches have the biggest chance to win: (a) diffractive nanophotonic structures created by imprinting or etching or (b) reflective- geometric waveguides manufactured by conventional optical technologies. In this talk, SCHOTT's advancement in providing key contributions with are presented: (a) RealView® wafers with ever increase flatness improving image quality and yield and RealView® glass with even higher refractive index enabling lightweight and cost efficient wide-field-of-view devices. (b) SCHOTT's reflective waveguides, created in partnership with Lumus using the new Z-lens architecture, now have achieved a new level of manufacturing maturity. AR glasses combining ultimate image quality and uncompromised wearability … our industry is getting there!