HIGH-RESOLUTION INSET HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY

A novel approach to inset superimposition in a high-resolution head-mo unted display (HMD) is presented. The approach is innovative in its us e of optoelectronic, nonmechanical devices in place of scanning mechan ical devices commonly adopted previously. A paraxial layout of the ove rall HMD system is presented, and the benefit of employing hybrid refr active-diffractive optics for the optical component that generates the inset is discussed. A potential overall HMD design is finally present ed to show the integrated system. The practical limitations of the des igned system are discussed and an alternative approach is presented to compare the advantages and the limitations of these systems. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.