Swave to show its 3D holographic chip
Swave Photonics in Belgium is demonstrating its 3D holographic display technology for compact extended reality (XR) form factors like smart glasses.
The Swave Holographic eXtended Reality (HXR) has the world’s smallest pixel with a pixel pitch of less than 300nm. This is small enough to steer light and sculpt high-resolution images.
The chip is built with established non-volatile Phase Change Material (PCM) as a “pixel” on a standard CMOS semiconductor process and the HXR chip supports D holography up to 64 gigapixels.
The resulting images are realistic and accurately portray an image’s depth in comparison to its surroundings, providing a natural and immersive viewing experience. The chipset is designed to meet all the AR design goals — including size, weight, field of view, and brightness — for next generation glasses, headsets and other form factors.
The HXR technology and prototypes will be demonstrated at Display Week in San Jose, CA. The initial HXR chips will be announced later this year.
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The company is currently taking orders for HXR development kits for device manufacturers, which will reach customers in the second half of 2024. The development kit provides the hardware and software for companies to design, prototype and test new XR hardware and form factors with the chipset.
Swave’s proprietary technology is able to sculpt lightwaves into natural, high-resolution 3D images, achieving true holography through light diffraction and interference. This allows the human brain and eyes to visually process the image naturally without waveguides, varifocal lenses or stereoscopy. The display technology solves the common industry issue of vergence-accommodation conflict, where stereoscopic images distort the relationship between vergence and accommodation reflexes, causing headaches, nausea and fatigue.
“The principles of holography were invented more than 75 years ago, but it has been impossible to realize the full potential of this technology so far,” said Gordon Wetzstein, associate professor at Stanford University. “Swave’s technology is the breakthrough this area has been waiting for. The holographic displays developed by Swave will have a transformative impact on information displays for smart glasses and beyond.”
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Swave’s HXR chip is the first spatial light modulator specifically designed for digital holography and AI-powered spatial computing. The small, lightweight chip will enable compact form factors for everyday use, and will be compatible with an eyeglass prescription. Together, the chip and XR hardware will work seamlessly with AI services like image recognition, visual search, navigation and translation.
“Today’s spatial computing experiences isolate the user and create mostly digital or unrealistic experiences, let alone an uncomfortable fit or look,” said Swave CEO Mike Noonen. “Swave focuses on reality-first XR where the user sees, for example, 90% reality and 10% augmented images. And by using such a small chipset that delivers a high performance display, our technology obviates the need for bulky headsets or overly conspicuous glasses.”
“By combining material science, semiconductor engineering, and algorithmic expertise, Swave delivers holographic solutions enabling a future where everyone has the power to visualize the world in a new way, and accomplish more. Our goal is to make spatial computing more than just a novelty, but a reality,” continued Noonen.
Swave has raised $11 million in seed funding from investors including imec.xpand, Flanders Future Tech Fund, QBIC, Acequia Capital, and Luminate NY, and $5 million in non-dilutive grants to date.
The technology has the ability to expand beyond smartglasses, including heads-up automotive displays, and eventually, an immersive holographic display experience without glasses or goggles.
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