Outstanding companies in the field of augmented reality (AR) have joined forces to accelerate the development of consumer-grade AR wearable devices. SCHOTT Group, Inkron Corporation, EV Group (EVG) and optical waveguide component manufacturer Wave Optics exhibited the world ’s first waveguide with a refractive index of 1.9 and a nano-resin structure on a glass substrate sheet. The production of the waveguide wafer is based on a 300mm wafer, which is now available for mass production. As a leading international high-tech group and a pioneer in optical glass, SCHOTT Germany has launched SCHOTT RealView ™ high-refractive-index glass wafers with a refractive index of 1.9 and a diameter of 300 mm. The mass production of this wafer provides the basis for the mass production of next-generation AR waveguides, while ensuring the extremely high-precision standards required by AR, while lowering the unit cost. Nanotechnology company Inkron produces a resin with a refractive index of 1.9. With the fully integrated and mass-proven EVG HERCULES® NIL nanoimprint process platform, the resin can be imprinted on a single 300 mm SCHOTT RealView ™ 1. 9 wafer Up to 24 waveguide plates. This product combines advanced waveguide structures provided by WaveOptics, a high-performance waveguide optical design company, SCHOTT's professional optical glass manufacturing experience, Inkron's innovative resin formulation and EVG's standard nanoimprint process (NIL).
California, California – February 3, 2020 – A new step in consumer-grade augmented reality (AR) wearable devices. To promote new cooperation, SCHOTT officially announced the latest developments in the RealView ™ high-refraction glass wafer series. Suitable for Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) devices: 300mm wafers can provide a wide field of view up to 65 °, with a refractive index of 1.9 to achieve a highly immersive user experience. It is not only a proof of concept, but also the foundation of future AR and MR equipment.
Larger wafer size, high refractive index of 1.9, can be combined with optical resin
"The market has always had a high demand for high-refractive glass combined with high-refractive resin. SCHOTT and its partner Inkron once again provide the most advanced solutions for advanced waveguide infrastructure." SCHOTT's augmented reality leader Dr. Ruediger Sprengard said. "The latest generation of SCHOTT RealView ™ optical glass performance can be combined with high-refractive resin and can meet the requirements of EVG's NIL process for mass production. We can already start the production of the next generation of field-of-view waveguide sheets."
At the 2020 West American Optoelectronics Exhibition, companies will publicly demonstrate for the first time their efforts to mass-produce wide-field-angle devices. The application of this new combination of high-refractive index glass and resin on 300mm wafers has proved the compatibility of 300mm glass and resin, laying the foundation for a low-cost AR waveguide manufacturing system
The next milestone on the road to consumer-grade AR devices
“Joining with partners Inkron and EVG marks a major step towards satisfying the consumer market. On the one hand, we are constantly innovating AR glass wafers with products with excellent performance.” SCHOTT AR Innovation Manager Dr. Frederik Bachhuber said: "On the other hand, we work with strong partners to give these parts" optical life "and mass production can be achieved immediately!"
At EVG's NIL Photonics Technology Center, we use its specialized wafer processing equipment to manufacture the demonstrator. These include the recently launched HERCULES®NIL 300 mm fully modular EV-GIL system and integrated UV-NIL system with SmartNIL® technology, which can replicate structures on substrates up to 300 mm in diameter.
Inkron's high RI resin IOC-133 has a high refractive index (1.9), excellent processability and optical properties. The combination of these material characteristics with SCHOTT RealView ™ substrates and EVG's professional processes has laid a solid foundation for WaveOptics' waveguide design.
WaveOptics is a leading designer and manufacturer of diffractive waveguides. It provides a waveguide technology platform with the widest field of view (diagonal between 15 ° and 60 °), and the largest size eye mask, and can be customized at any time. Meet the various needs of customers.
The SCHOTT RealView ™ glass wafer with high refractive index is a key component of next-generation AR / MR equipment. Glass wafers are the basis for customers' multilayer RGB waveguides, and are therefore a key part of AR / MR display units, enabling an immersive user experience. SCHOTT offers the industry's broadest product portfolio, from wafers with diameters of 100, 150, 200 to 300 mm, which can achieve refractive indices ranging from 1.5 to 1.9, respectively.
Driving glass innovation in the industry
SCHOTT scientists and glass experts have been continuously improving the quality of AR / MR optical glass and are driving the next generation of product innovation at their German optical glass center. At the same time, SCHOTT has mature mass production experience, can consistently meet the highest quality requirements of the industry, and serve the rapidly growing AR market. As a key component of the immersive experience, SCHOTT's RealView ™ glass wafers have been awarded the 2019 Display Industry Award of the Year by the International Information Display Association (SID).