Architecture selection
Waveguide, birdbath, and pancake architectures each trade field of view, eye box, efficiency, and thickness differently.
AR/VR optical designPalo Alto, California
NEAR-EYE / WAVEGUIDE / DISPLAY
AR/VR and near-eye display optical design, from architecture to prototype.
Palo Alto Optics provides AR/VR optical design and near-eye display engineering: waveguide, pancake, and birdbath architectures, exit-pupil expansion, and the optomechanical and calibration work that turns a display concept into wearable hardware.
SYSTEM WORKFLOWPAO / 01
01Requirements
02Architecture
03Optical design
04Prototype
05Calibration
AR/VR waveguide design services and near-eye display optical design for headset, smart-glasses, and HUD programs.
01Engineering reality
Near-eye optics trade image quality against size, weight, and eye box.
AR/VR display design is a system of competing constraints: field of view, eye box, form factor, brightness, efficiency, and cost all pull against each other, and the right architecture depends on the product.
Eye box and pupil expansion
Delivering a usable eye box, often through exit-pupil expansion, without unacceptable loss or artifacts.
Wearable integration
Fitting the optics into a headset or glasses form factor with acceptable weight, comfort, and manufacturability.
02Project fit
Contact PAO when the near-eye architecture, optical engine, or calibration path is still preventing a product decision.
The strongest starting point is a defined user experience and package envelope, even when the waveguide, pancake, birdbath, microdisplay, or projection architecture is not yet selected.
Architecture is not closed
Field of view, eye box, efficiency, display choice, transparency, and product thickness still require a quantitative trade study.
A display engine needs integration
The optical design must be connected to mechanics, thermal limits, distortion correction, color calibration, and a repeatable alignment sequence.
A prototype misses the experience
Brightness, artifacts, eye-box behavior, focus, distortion, or user variation must be isolated with controlled measurements.
ENGINEERING DECISION TABLE
Inputs that change the architecture, acceptance method, and program risk.
| Input condition | Key metric | Design choice | Risk if unresolved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use case, transparency, and form factor | Field of view, eye box, efficiency, package depth | Waveguide, birdbath, pancake, or refractive architecture | The selected architecture cannot meet both wearability and image requirements. |
| Microdisplay and illumination | Luminance, contrast, etendue, color, thermal load | Display type, relay, pupil strategy, coatings, polarization | Insufficient brightness or excess heat after optical losses. |
| Eye geometry and user variation | Eye relief, pupil swim, uniformity, focus, prescription range | Exit-pupil expansion, adjustment, calibration, fit strategy | Nominal bench performance does not translate across users. |
| Production and calibration plan | Alignment yield, distortion residual, unit variation | Datums, compensators, fixtures, correction model, acceptance test | Prototype performance cannot be reproduced in manufacturing. |
SELECTED ENGINEERING EVIDENCE
Published scope, verification method, and disclosure boundary.
These records describe documented engineering experience or the evidence plan PAO uses for new work. They do not imply that prior-employer programs were PAO customer engagements.
Near-eye platform engineering experience
- Scope
- Documented prior-role work across near-eye optical engines, eye-box and image-quality budgets, module interfaces, tolerances, and prototype integration.
- Verification
- Model reviews, tolerance budgets, controlled alignment states, image-quality measurements, calibration residuals, and model-to-test comparison.
- Boundary
- Customer identities, confidential prescriptions, exact results, and product claims are withheld.
Evidence package for new PAO work
- Scope
- Requirements, architecture decision record, released optical and mechanical configuration, calibration definition, and verification report.
- Verification
- Acceptance conditions are agreed before prototype build and measured against the controlled configuration.
- Boundary
- Performance and schedule are program-specific and require review of the display, package, environment, and supplier path.
03Engineering scope
The display architecture, optics, and integration designed together.
PAO can help select an architecture, design the optics, or diagnose a near-eye subsystem already in development.
Define a technical work packageArchitecture trade studies
Waveguide vs birdbath vs pancake, microdisplay selection, and field-of-view, eye-box, and efficiency trades.
Near-eye optical design
Combiner, lens, and waveguide design and optimization for image quality, distortion, and uniformity.
Exit-pupil expansion
Pupil-replication strategies to deliver a usable eye box within the form factor and efficiency budget.
Illumination and microdisplay
MicroLED, microOLED, and LCoS integration, brightness, contrast, and etendue management.
Optomechanical design
Mounts, alignment, tolerance, and packaging for a wearable form factor and manufacture.
Prototyping and calibration
Build, alignment, distortion and color calibration, and image-quality verification.
04Technical envelope
Near-eye optics for AR, VR, and heads-up systems.
Representative capability is shown with the context needed to qualify it. Program requirements control the final architecture and acceptance values.
AR smart glasses
Waveguide and combiner optics for lightweight, all-day-wearable augmented-reality displays.
VR and mixed reality headsets
Pancake and refractive optics for wide field of view and compact headset form factors.
Heads-up and helmet displays
Combiner and projection optics for automotive, aviation, and defense HUD and helmet systems.
Enterprise and industrial wearables
Rugged near-eye displays for field, logistics, and manufacturing use.
REFERENCE ENVELOPE
ArchitecturesWaveguide / birdbath / pancakeSelected against field, eye box, efficiency, and form factor
MicrodisplaysmicroLED / microOLED / LCoSIntegration, brightness, contrast, and etendue
Design focusFOV, eye box, distortion, MTFImage quality within a wearable budget
Engagement stageArchitecture to prototypeEnter at any point in development
Near-eye performance depends on a tightly coupled set of requirements. PAO helps define achievable targets and the architecture that best meets them for your product.
05What you receive
Engineering outputs your team can review, build, test, and maintain.
The exact package follows the program stage and scope. Assumptions, interfaces, decisions, and acceptance evidence remain visible.
Architecture recommendation
Selected display architecture with the trade study and rationale behind it.
Optical design package
Combiner, waveguide, or lens design, prescription, performance budgets, and tolerances.
Eye-box and pupil analysis
Exit-pupil expansion strategy and eye-box, efficiency, and uniformity analysis.
Optomechanical concept
Wearable packaging, mounts, alignment, and tolerance interfaces.
Prototype and calibration plan
Build strategy, alignment, distortion and color calibration, and image-quality verification.
06Controlled delivery
A local engineering interface from first review through release.
PAO leads the technical work, coordinates specialized fabrication and production resources under the project quality process, and keeps responsibility for requirements, interfaces, evidence, and issue closure clear.
- 01
Technical intake
Define the system boundary, decision to be made, current evidence, constraints, and confidentiality path.
- 02
Requirements and risk
Create measurable requirements, interface assumptions, performance budgets, and a ranked technical risk register.
- 03
Architecture and proof
Compare viable concepts and retire the highest-risk assumptions with analysis, breadboards, or targeted tests.
- 04
Detailed engineering
Develop controlled optical, mechanical, calibration, test, and supplier-ready documentation.
- 05
Build and verification
Support procurement, assembly, alignment, test correlation, root cause, and evidence-based iteration.
- 06
Release and transfer
Close acceptance criteria, configuration, supplier questions, manufacturing issues, and production handoff.
07Qualification questions
Questions engineering teams ask before engaging.
01Which near-eye architecture is best, waveguide or pancake?
It depends on the product. Waveguides suit lightweight see-through AR glasses; pancake optics suit compact wide-field VR. PAO runs an architecture trade study against your field-of-view, eye-box, efficiency, and form-factor targets.
02Can you design the waveguide and exit-pupil expansion?
Yes. PAO designs near-eye combiner and waveguide optics including exit-pupil expansion strategies to deliver a usable eye box within the form-factor and efficiency budget.
03Do you support prototype build and calibration?
Yes. Engagements can run from architecture selection through optical design, prototype build, alignment, and distortion and color calibration.
09Start a conversation
Bring the display concept, targets, and form factor.
PAO can help select a near-eye architecture, design the optics, or diagnose a display subsystem already in development.