Compact AR Smart Glasses with Direct Nanoimprinted Optical Elements for MicroLED Display Integration

As augmented reality (AR) smart glasses advance toward smaller, lighter, and more ergonomic designs, the integration of microLED displays introduces challenges in optical system design. Achieving a compact form factor while maintaining high image quality requires precise control over how light is extracted, coupled, and guided from microLED sources through the optical path to the visual user experience.
SCIL Nanoimprint Solutions has developed a high-precision nanoimprinting technology that enables the direct patterning of structures directly into inorganic high refractive index materials—critical for coupling light efficiently from microLED arrays into waveguides or combiners. This technique supports high-volume manufacturing of complex optical elements for both the microLED source (such as photonic crystals, plasmonics) and the waveguide combiner (slanted gratings with continuously varying depth and duty cycle), which are essential for optimizing light extraction and uniformity. The process offers great design flexibility and allows for multi-orientation patterning in a single imprint step, enabling compact, high-efficiency sources and optics that meet the challenging requirements of microLED-based optical systems. Combining advanced nanoimprint lithography with microLED display integration paves the way for scalable, high-throughput manufacturing of next-generation AR optics.