May 13, 019-The future of augmented reality / mixed reality (AR / MR) is before us. The international technology group SCHOTT has released the latest member of the SCHOTT RealViewTM family of products. SCHOTT RealViewTM is a series of high-refractive optical glass wafers designed for the next generation of consumer smart glasses. The new product has a refractive index as high as 1.9, so manufacturers can design products with a wider field of view (FOV) than any AR glasses currently on the market. Based on SCHOTT ’s new generation of RealViewTM 1.9 high-refractive wafers, AR waveguide systems with horizontal FOV53 ° (equivalent to diagonal FOV65 °) are already expected.
"The AR / MR industry can bring us a fully immersive experience. To achieve this, software developers must allow virtual content to appear anywhere in our natural field of view, regardless of the angle of view." SCHOTT Business Ruediger Sprengard, vice president of the augmented reality business unit, said. "But even the most advanced smart glasses on the market today cannot achieve this experience, because their horizontal field of view is only about 40 °. One of the limiting factors is that the existing optical waveguide wafer substrates are not sufficiently refractive. The entry-level high-refractive wafers that SCH launched last year are not enough to overcome this application limitation.
At Display Week 2018, SCHOTT announced the first generation of RealView ™ developed in collaboration with AR hardware manufacturers for many years. Compared to traditional glass wafers used in the semiconductor and sensor industries, SCHOTT RealView ™ wafers define a new standard for surface flatness (tolerances reduced by more than 10 times) based on the most advanced glass composition formula. The wafer fabrication technology is based on SCHOTT's 135 years of optical glass manufacturing experience, with more than 120 optical glass formulations to choose from. SCHOTT's optical glass melting and thermoforming processes can meet the stringent requirements for high purity, uniformity and refractive index stability in the field of precision optics. At present, SCHOTT has the production capacity to provide large-diameter wafers that meet industry standards.
With the efforts of SCHOTT materials scientists, the new generation of RealViewTM wafers can take into account both large-scale glass melting and high-efficiency wafer processing. High refractive index.
The purest optical glass: Designed for SCHOTT RealView ™ refined glass wafers
"With the introduction of the latest generation of SCHOTT RealView ™ 1.9 reflectivity glass wafers, we are redefining the most advanced optical wafer solutions in the AR / MR industry, paving the way for optical design of next-generation AR equipment. Sprengard said. "From the entire industry value chain from glass production to optical coating, SCHOTT has always been a trusted supplier in the AR industry to meet the growing and upgrading global AR market demand."
In order to guarantee high quality, melting of optical glass materials is carried out at SCHOTT's German factory. Wafer manufacturing and optical coating are completed in China. SCHOTT's new manufacturing plant in China has achieved mass production. SCHOTT Germany and Switzerland facilities will provide customers with reliable support in glass development, wafer processing and coating technology. At the same time, professionally trained application engineers can meet customer requirements in all regions of the world.
With this new product, SCHOTT is actively helping the AR / MR industry by providing key optical components for a fully immersive experience. SCHOTT's market position is also recognized by authoritative awards-the first generation of SCHOTT RealView ™ was named by the Society for Information Display (SID) as one of the annual product parts of the display industry in 2019. The award was also awarded to products from Apple, Samsung, Sony, Di Ruihe, Japan Display and Lenovo.
Light guide technology
The most advanced AR / MR equipment uses optical waveguide technology. SCHOTT RealView ™ high-reflectivity glass wafers are a key component of this breakthrough technology. What is its principle?
(1) The projection device transmits a virtual digital image to the optical waveguide system.
(2) The waveguide plate emitted by the projection device is coupled at a specific position.
(3) Light waves of various colors are totally reflected n times and are coupled out in a specific grating area.
(4) In a certain range, the human eye can simultaneously receive a virtual digital image and a real-world image. This creates a mixed reality image.