Spatial multiplexing holographic combiner for glasses-free augmented reality

Glasses-free augmented reality is of great interest by fusing virtual 3D images naturally with physical world without the aid of any wearable equipment. Here we propose a large-scale spatial multiplexing holographic see-through combiner for full-color 3D display. The pixelated metagratings with varied orientation and spatial frequency discretely reconstruct the propagating lightfield. The irradiance pattern of each view is tailored to form super Gaussian distribution with minimized crosstalk. What’s more, spatial multiplexing holographic combiner with customized aperture size is adopted for the white balance of virtually displayed full-color 3D scene. In a 32-inch prototype, 16 views form a smooth parallax with a viewing angle of 47°. A high transmission (>75%) over the entire visible spectrum range is achieved. We demonstrated that the displayed virtual 3D scene not only preserved natural motion parallax, but also mixed well with the natural objects. The potential applications of this study include education, communication, product design, advertisement, and head-up display.