Multi-depth switching by triple wavefront modulation of quarter-waveplate geometric phase lenses for vergence-accommodation-matching extended reality.

ABSTRACT: We present a novel approach to resolving the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC) in extended reality (XR) optics by introducing a quarter-waveplate (QWP) geometric phase lens (GPL) capable of triple wavefront modulation-focusing, defocusing, and non-modulating at infinity. This polarization-driven behavior is interpreted using contour trajectories on the Poincaré sphere and compared against conventional half-waveplate (HWP) GPLs. Leveraging this property, we propose a bi-stacked QWP GPL module that enables nine distinct varifocal states through polarization-controlled input selection and output filtering. In contrast, HWP-based modules under equivalent stacking conditions are limited to four focal states. The QWP GPL module supports a compact varifocal system spanning a continuous depth

SUBMITTER: Shin JY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12446484 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature