This dissertation examines a head-up display (HUD) optical system that uses a photopolymer-based reflection holographic optical element (HOE) as the combiner. Freeform mirrors and polarization optics are added to the HOE. The design goal is to maintai...
This dissertation examines a head-up display (HUD) optical system that uses a photopolymer-based reflection holographic optical element (HOE) as the combiner. Freeform mirrors and polarization optics are added to the HOE. The design goal is to maintain image quality over a 100 mm x 50 mm eyebox. Aberrations are corrected by the freeform mirrors.
First, a two-mirror vertically folded layout is designed. The HOE is attached to the inner surface of the windshield. Two X-Y polynomial freeform mirrors are placed between the display plane and the HOE. A design method that combines backward and forward ray tracing is used. In the backward step, rays start from the eyebox, pass through the HOE and the two mirrors, and arrive at the display plane. Their intersection points define point-source positions. In the forward step, rays start from these point sources and propagate to the eyebox. The RMS angular blur is evaluated with respect to a virtual image at infinity. The mirror parameters are optimized so that this blur becomes small.
Next, a two-mirror horizontal layout is proposed. The two freeform mirrors are shifted in the horizontal direction instead of being stacked vertically. This change reduces the vertical height of the projection optics. In this layout, one HOE recording point is treated as a design variable. The HOE recording conditions and the freeform relay optics are optimized together.
Finally, a holographic HUD with three eyebox-height modes is proposed. A polarizing beam splitter (PBS) and a quarter-wave plate (QWP) are inserted between the two freeform mirrors. A single HOE, one pair of freeform mirrors, and the PBS-QWP module are shared by all three modes. The eyebox height is adjusted by ±50 mm around a nominal position. Only the position and tilt of the display panel are changed, and all other optics remain fixed.