Recent progress in micro-optics fabrication and optical modeling software opens the opportunity to investigate how microlenslet-array-based compact relay systems can be designed and assessed. We present various optical configurations that include an appropriate baffle computation to eliminate ghost images, followed by an analysis of image quality. The investigation shows the existing trade-off between compactness of the system and a tiling effect observed in the corresponding image, an effect we refer to as lensletization. To yield meaningful optical modeling results, we provide insight into ray-tracing optimization while ensuring a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio. The results show that, given no discernable lensletization, the most compact configuration to image gray-scale images is the 5f-based system. Finally, simulations of the imaging of gray scale and color bitmaps through microlenslet arrays are demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge.

A recent advancement was achieved in the integration and miniaturization of a binocular head-worn projection display (HWPD) conceived for fully mobile users. The devised display, referred to as Mobile HWPD (M-HWPD), offers see-through capability through custom-designed, light-weight projection optics and an integrated commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) retro-reflective screen to display full color stereoscopic rendered images augmenting the real world. Moreover, the light-weight optical device (i.e., approximately 8g per eye) has the ability to project clear images at three different locations within near- or far-field observation depths without loss of image quality. In this paper, we first demonstrate the miniaturization of the optics, the optical performance, and the integration of these components with the retro-reflective screen to produce an M-HWPD prototype. We then show results that demonstrate the feasibility of superimposing computer-generated images on a real outdoor scene with the M-HWPD.

No abstract

Paraxial raytracing is a valuable tool for making quick "back-of-the-envelope" calculations in optical system design. Its popularity has been highly diminished as a consequence of the growing sophistication of computer-aided raytracing and the availability of powerful computers. The availability of raytracing computer programs does not harm in itself the usefulness of graphical raytracing, but it makes people forget, or never learn the basics of graphical raytracing. In this paper, some of the basic concepts of graphical raytracing are presented, along with some examples that illustrate how it can be applied to multielement systems. The mastering of the methods presented in this paper constitute some of the fundamentals required in the use of any optical software. Such knowledge is absolutely necessary for the conception of novel optical systems.

No abstract