A Virtual Tour of Holographic Combiner Elements Targeting HUD/AR Applications

Head-up displays (HUDs) and augmented reality (AR) pose unique optical design challenges that are not yet resolved. Both types of systems impose tight constraints in size and weight, while requesting large fields of view and eye box. Because holograms have the advantages of being thin and light, they are particularly well suited for this type of application. Pierre-Alexandre Blanche introduces the various types of holograms and geometries for HUD and AR combiners, including the latest research on holographic waveguides, conformational diffractive elements, and multiplexing schemes for extended field of view.

About the presenter
Pierre-Alexandre Blanche, Ph.D. is research professor of optics at the University of Arizona's College of Optical Sciences. Before joining the University of Arizona in 2006, he was a space instrumentation specialist at the Centre Spatial de Liège, University of Liège (Belgium) from 1999 to 2006, where he worked on the design of space instruments. He received his Ph.D. in physics in the field of nonlinear optics and holography from the University of Liège in 1999, and his bachelor of science degree from the University of Liège in 1994. In Belgium, he co-founded a company for manufacturing large-volume phase gratings for the optics and aerospace industries. He is the author of more than 50 papers on optics and holography and has contributed chapters on holography to numerous books, including the Handbook of Optical Engineering, 2nd edition. He holds nine patents.

Blanche and his team recently used holography to improve head-up displays that overlay images onto the windshields of cars and aircraft. His research interests include diffraction optics, 3D display, nonlinear, and photonic materials.