Biocular vehicle display optics is a fast collimating lens (f / # < 0.9) that presents the image of the display at infinity to both eyes of the viewer. Each eye captures the scene independently and the brain merges the two images into one through the overlapping portions of the images. With the recent conversion from analog CRT based displays to lighter, more compact active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLED) digital image sources, display optical designs have evolved to take advantage of the higher resolution AMOLED image sources. To maximize the field of view of the display optics and fully resolve the smaller pixels, the digital image source is pre-magnified by relay optics or a coherent taper fiber optics plate. Coherent taper fiber optics plates are used extensively to: 1. Convert plano focal planes to spherical focal planes in order to eliminate Petzval field curvature. This elimination enables faster lens speed and/or larger field of view of eye pieces, display optics. 2. Provide pre-magnification to lighten the work load of the optics to further increase the numerical aperture and/or field of view. 3. Improve light flux collection efficiency and field of view by collecting all the light emitted by the image source and guiding imaging light bundles toward the lens aperture stop. 4. Reduce complexity of the optical design and overall packaging volume by replacing pre-magnification optics with a compact taper fiber optics plate. This paper will review and compare the performance of biocular vehicle display designs without and with taper fiber optics plate.

Date Published: 21 May 2012
PDF: 14 pages
Proc. SPIE 8383, Head- and Helmet-Mounted Displays XVII; and Display Technologies and Applications for Defense, Security, and Avionics VI, 83830O (21 May 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.925190

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8383:
Head- and Helmet-Mounted Displays XVII; and Display Technologies and Applications for Defense, Security, and Avionics VI
Peter L. Marasco; Daniel D. Desjardins; Paul R. Havig II; Kalluri R. Sarma, Editor(s)