[OPTICAL REVIEW Vol. 8, No. 4 (2001) 241-244]
A Practical See-Through Head Mounted Display Using a Holographic Optical Element
Ichiro KASAI*, Yasushi TANIJIRI, Takeshi ENDO and Hiroaki UEDA
Optics Technology Division, Minolta Co., Ltd., 1-2, Sakura-Machi, Takatsuki, Osaka, 569-8503 Japan
(Received February 23, 2001; Accepted April 26, 2001)
This paper describes a practical method for design and fabrication of holographic optical elements (HOEs) as off-axis imaging optics. The authors have designed and fabricated a compact glass-like and see-through display using HOE and a total internal reflection prism. Observers can see through the display because wavelength selectivity of the HOE provides high transparency. Wave front of the HOE is designed by commercial software, though the actual fabrication method is not provided. The authors propose a practical method to fabricate HOEs, which can be applied to a wide range of imaging optics.
Key words : holographic optical element, head mounted display, off-axis optics, wearable computer, see-through display