Jiwon Rho | LetinAR: Ever wonder how an advanced AR lens is made? Here's the 8-step process.
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Summary of the clip:
Ever wonder how an advanced AR lens is made? Here's the 8-step process.
This clip provides a rare look into the manufacturing process for plastic injection-molded AR optics, which is central to achieving scalability and cost-effectiveness. The process begins with the high-precision fabrication of two separate plastic lens components, a front and a back piece, using injection molding. This forms the fundamental substrate of the optical system.
The mid-process steps are critical for creating the reflective surfaces. This involves the precise application of metal or dielectric mirror coatings onto the front lens component using a specialized evaporation mask to define the mirror pattern. Following this, the two lens components are bonded together with an adhesive, which is then cured to form a solid, monolithic structure.
The final stages involve assembly and quality assurance. The bonded block is cut into the final lens shape, and various functional coatings (anti-reflective, anti-fingerprint) are applied. The finished optic is then assembled with an OLED microdisplay and undergoes a crucial active alignment process to ensure perfect focus and image quality before being delivered to smart glass manufacturers.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The end-to-end manufacturing flow for plastic injection-molded AR optics.
* Key techniques like mirror coating with evaporation masks and UV bonding.
* The importance of active alignment between the optics and the microdisplay.
π **Clip Abstract** This clip details LetinAR's 8-step process for manufacturing its plastic AR optical modules. It provides a rare look into the production flow, from initial plastic injection molding and specialized mirror coating to the final active alignment with a microdisplay.
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#PlasticInjectionMolding, #AROptics, #MirrorCoating, #ActiveAlignment, #AugmentedReality, #MicroLEDDisplays
This is a highlight of the presentation:
Advancements in plastic reflective waveguides for enhanced AI integration in AR smartglasses
MicroLEDs, AR/VR Displays, Micro-Optics 2025: Innovations, Start-Ups, Market Trends
Online | TechBlick platform
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TechBlick
MicroLED Connect
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How do you shrink AR optics without sacrificing image quality?
How do you shrink AR optics without sacrificing image quality?
LetinAR's approach to solving the form-factor versus performance trade-off in AR optics is its proprietary "Pin-Tilt" structure. This design is a novel variant of reflective waveguides, engineered to overcome the limitations of both bulky traditional reflective optics like birdbaths and performance-constrained diffractive waveguides. It aims to deliver superior optical quality in a package small enough for everyday smart glasses.
The core mechanism of the Pin-Tilt design is its ability to fold the optical path. By using two instances of Total Internal Reflection (TIR), the light path is effectively bent and contained within a very thin lens structure. This geometric folding is what allows for a significant reduction in the overall volume of the optical engine, enabling a sleek form factor while maintaining the high performance characteristic of reflective systems.
The strategic choice to build these optics from plastic is fundamental to the company's mission. Since its establishment in 2016, LetinAR has specialized in plastic reflective optics, leveraging injection molding techniques. This focus is key to achieving the cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing necessary to bring consumer AR smart glasses to the mass market.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The concept behind LetinAR's proprietary "Pin-Tilt" optical architecture.
* How Total Internal Reflection (TIR) is used to fold the optical path and reduce volume.
* Why specializing in plastic reflective optics is a key enabler for mass-market AR.
π **Clip Abstract** LetinAR presents its "Pin-Tilt" structure, a compact reflective waveguide that maintains high optical performance. The design cleverly folds the optical path using Total Internal Reflection (TIR), enabling a significant reduction in volume for a sleek smart glass form factor.
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#PinTiltOptics, #ReflectiveWaveguides, #TotalInternalReflection, #PlasticOptics, #ARdisplays, #WearableElectronics
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Why isn't a standard microLED panel good enough for advanced AR optics?
Why isn't a standard microLED panel good enough for advanced AR optics?
For advanced AR systems, standard microdisplay specifications like brightness and pixel density are only part of the story. A critical, yet often overlooked, parameter is the emission profile of the light source. To achieve maximum system efficiency and performance, the light from the microdisplay cannot be a simple Lambertian (diffuse) source; it must be precisely engineered.
LetinAR's specific optical architecture places two key demands on the microdisplay's light profile. The first is that the light must be focused, or collimated, rather than spread out. This is typically achieved by integrating a microlens array (MLA) on top of the display panel, which directs more of the emitted light into the narrow acceptance angle of the optical system, dramatically improving efficiency.
The most unique and advanced requirement is for the entire emission profile to be tilted at a specific angle. This is a direct consequence of LetinAR's tilted internal mirror geometry. This level of co-design, where the display's primary emission angle is tailored to the optic's internal structure, is crucial for maximizing light throughput and image quality, highlighting the need for deep collaboration between display and optics manufacturers.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Why the emission profile of a microdisplay is a critical parameter for AR optics.
* The need for focused light, often achieved with microlens arrays, to improve efficiency.
* The advanced concept of a "tilted" emission profile required for specific optical architectures.
π **Clip Abstract** This clip reveals the advanced co-design requirements between AR optics and microdisplays. LetinAR explains that beyond brightness, their system requires the microdisplay to have a focused and, uniquely, a tilted light emission profile to perfectly match their optical architecture.
π Link in comments π
#EmissionProfile, #MicrolensArray, #TiltedEmission, #DisplayOpticsCoDesign, #AugmentedReality, #MicroLEDDisplays