Achromatic diffractive liquid-crystal optics for virtual reality displays

Abstract Diffractive liquid-crystal optics is a promising optical element for virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality as it provides an ultrathin formfactor and lightweight for human factors and ergonomics. However, its severe chromatic aberrations impose a big challenge for full-color display applications. In this study, we demonstrate an achromatic diffractive liquid-crystal device to overcome this longstanding chromatic aberration issue. The proposed device consists of three stacked diffractive liquid crystal optical elements with specifically designed spectral response and polarization selectivity. The concept is validated by both simulations and experiments. Our experimental results show a significant improvement in imaging performance with two types of light engines: a laser projector and an organic light-emitting diode display panel. In addition, our simulation results indicate that the lateral color shift is reduced by ~100 times in comparison with conventional broadband diffractive liquid-crystal lens. Potential applications for VR-enabled metaverse, spatial computing, and digital twins that have found widespread applications in smart tourism, smart education, smart healthcare, smart manufacturing, and smart construction are foreseeable.