Hybrid diffractive-refractive 67°-diagonal field of view optical see-through head-mounted display

Abstract Design of a wide-angle off-axis optical see-through head-mounted display (HMD) becomes a challenge since its weight and size are constrained by human factors. Diffractive optics has the potential to play a key role in several areas of head-mounted display. They can reduce size and weight while providing some unique functions that would be difficult to implement with conventional refractive optics. This paper presents a 67°-diagonal field of view, wide spectral band hybrid diffractive-refractive see-through head-mounted display (HMD) using off-axis optics. It possesses a 10 mm exit pupil and a 22 mm eye relief, and satisfies the requirements of human factors. The whole optical system is suitable for a 20 mm-diagonal color liquid crystal display (LCD) with XGA resolution.