Occlusion of a real scene by displayed virtual images mitigates incorrect depth cues and enhances image visibility in augmented reality applications. In this Letter, we propose a novel optical scheme for the occlusion-capable optical-see-through near-eye display. The proposed scheme uses only a single spatial light modulator, as the real-scene mask and virtual image display simultaneously. A polarization-based double-pass configuration is also combined, enabling a compact implementation. The proposed scheme is verified by optical experiments which demonstrate a 60 Hz red-green-blue video display with a 4-bit depth for each color channel and per-pixel dynamic occlusion of a 90.6% maximum occlusion ratio.

Occlusion of real scene by displayed virtual images is an important feature of augmented reality display devices. We propose and demonstrate a novel occlusion scheme which uses a single digital micromirror device for the real scene masking and virtual image display.