Compact See-though Near to Eye Display with Diffractive Optical Elements

The Near to Eye Display (NED) solves the problem of having a display larger than a small portable device. The virtual image of the NED is created using a microdisplay and imaging optics. It is important that the optics does not interfere with the human visual system and that the device is light, compact and easy to wear. In this paper the principles of a biocular NED, which is based on a novel diffractive Exit Pupil Expander (EPE), are presented. The optical system is compact and intrinsically free from distortions and misalignments.