| 1. | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 
| 1.1. | Optics and AR/MR/VR devices | 
| 1.2. | VR, AR, MR and XR as experiences | 
| 1.3. | Segmenting devices: VR vs AR | 
| 1.4. | Classifying headsets | 
| 1.5. | Apple's Vision Pro and re-evaluation of XR | 
| 1.6. | The rise of passthrough MR in VR headsets | 
| 1.7. | XR headsets: State of the market in 2023 | 
| 1.8. | The outlook for XR: Comparing the VR and AR markets | 
| 1.9. | Optical requirements for XR | 
| 1.10. | Motivation - why are XR optics important? | 
| 1.11. | AR vs VR optics: Development status and design considerations | 
| 1.12. | XR headsets: Optical technology choices | 
| 1.13. | Technology landscape: Optical combiners for AR | 
| 1.14. | Optical combiners: Definition and classification | 
| 1.15. | Waveguides vs other combiner types | 
| 1.16. | AR combiners: Promising technological candidates | 
| 1.17. | Status and market potential of optical combiners | 
| 1.18. | Benchmarking criteria for AR combiners (I): Commercial factors | 
| 1.19. | Benchmarking criteria (II): Technological factors | 
| 1.20. | Attribute importance in wide vs narrow FoV devices | 
| 1.21. | Narrow FoV AR benchmark performance | 
| 1.22. | Wide FoV AR benchmark performance | 
| 1.23. | Wide FoV AR combiner technology forecast (adoption proportions) | 
| 1.24. | Narrow FoV AR combiner technology forecast (adoption proportions) | 
| 1.25. | AR combiner forecasts: Overall summary | 
| 1.26. | AR combiner technology players | 
| 1.27. | AR: Prescription correction for waveguides | 
| 1.28. | AR combiners: Key technological takeaways | 
| 1.29. | The VR optics technology landscape | 
| 1.30. | Technological status of VR lens technologies | 
| 1.31. | "Generations" of VR lens | 
| 1.32. | VR lens benchmark performance | 
| 1.33. | VR lens technology forecast (adoption proportions) | 
| 1.34. | VR lens forecasts: Overall summary | 
| 1.35. | Lens technology players: VR and ancillary AR lenses | 
| 1.36. | Optics revenue forecasts | 
| 1.37. | VR lenses: Key technological takeaways | 
| 2. | INTRODUCTION | 
| 2.1. | Introduction to XR | 
| 2.1.1. | VR, AR, MR and XR as experiences | 
| 2.1.2. | Segmenting devices: VR vs AR | 
| 2.1.3. | Classifying headsets | 
| 2.1.4. | AR, MR, VR and XR: A brief history | 
| 2.1.5. | The 2010s to date - the age of XR begins | 
| 2.1.6. | Passthrough MR in VR devices | 
| 2.1.7. | XR Market Development | 
| 2.1.8. | The VR market is consolidating | 
| 2.1.9. | Applications in VR, AR & MR | 
| 2.1.10. | The metaverse as a driver for XR development | 
| 2.1.11. | XR devices and the metaverse | 
| 2.1.12. | Industry 4.0 and XR | 
| 2.1.13. | VR/AR solutions for Industry 4.0 | 
| 2.1.14. | Apple's Vision Pro and re-evaluation of XR | 
| 2.1.15. | Old terminology: PC-, standalone and smartphone XR | 
| 2.1.16. | Updating terminology: Standalone vs tethered | 
| 2.1.17. | AR: Defining terminology (I) | 
| 2.1.18. | AR: Defining terminology (II) | 
| 2.1.19. | Consumer AR headsets: A rocky history | 
| 2.1.20. | Consumer AR devices face tough competition | 
| 2.1.21. | AR headsets as a replacement for other smart devices | 
| 2.1.22. | AR as the end goal | 
| 2.1.23. | VR headsets: Selected players | 
| 2.1.24. | AR headsets: Selected players | 
| 2.1.25. | Potential Big Tech entries to the AR market (I) | 
| 2.1.26. | Potential Big Tech entries to the AR market (II) | 
| 2.1.27. | The outlook for XR: Comparing the VR and AR markets | 
| 2.2. | Introduction to XR optics | 
| 2.2.1. | Optical requirements for XR | 
| 2.2.2. | Pairing optics with displays | 
| 2.2.3. | AR vs VR optics: Development status and design considerations | 
| 2.2.4. | Optical engines: Combining displays and optics in XR | 
| 2.2.5. | Field of view defines XR experiences | 
| 2.2.6. | An immersive experience requires a wide field of view (FoV) - but is this always necessary? | 
| 2.2.7. | Eyebox and eye relief: Keys to XR usability | 
| 2.2.8. | Measuring brightness and efficiency | 
| 2.2.9. | No free lunches: Etendue, FoV and eyebox | 
| 2.2.10. | Resolution, FoV, and pixel density | 
| 2.2.11. | Foveated rendering and displays: Higher display quality at reduced resolution for both VR and AR | 
| 2.2.12. | The vergence-accommodation conflict | 
| 2.2.13. | Contrast and dynamic range: The same but different | 
| 2.2.14. | How do display requirements differ between AR and VR? | 
| 2.2.15. | Optical aberrations present design challenges | 
| 2.2.16. | Optic coatings in VR and AR | 
| 2.2.17. | Optical combiners for AR | 
| 2.2.18. | Choices of AR optic | 
| 2.2.19. | Choices of VR optic | 
| 2.2.20. | Summary: XR optical design is a complex balancing act | 
| 3. | MARKET FORECASTS AND DISCUSSION | 
| 3.1. | Forecasting methodology | 
| 3.1.1. | VR headset forecasting: Important data sources | 
| 3.1.2. | AR headset forecasting: Important data sources | 
| 3.1.3. | Methodology - device and display forecasts | 
| 3.1.4. | AR and VR headsets: State of the market | 
| 3.2. | Headset market forecasts | 
| 3.2.1. | AR: Historic device sales | 
| 3.2.2. | What is not considered in forecasting | 
| 3.2.3. | AR headsets: Revenue | 
| 3.2.4. | AR headsets: Headset volume | 
| 3.2.5. | VR: Historic device sales | 
| 3.2.6. | Cyclic nature of VR hardware sales | 
| 3.2.7. | VR headsets: Revenue | 
| 3.2.8. | VR headsets: Headset volume | 
| 3.3. | Market forecasts: Optical combiners for AR | 
| 3.3.1. | A reminder on AR market segmentation | 
| 3.3.2. | The future of combiner technology | 
| 3.3.3. | Manufacturability of waveguides - why is this expected to change? | 
| 3.3.4. | Why reflective waveguides are likely dominate for immersive consumer AR | 
| 3.3.5. | Non-waveguide combiners - what does the future hold? | 
| 3.3.6. | Forecasting adoption proportion for AR combiner technologies | 
| 3.3.7. | Wide FoV AR combiner technology forecast (adoption proportions) | 
| 3.3.8. | Narrow FoV AR combiner technology forecast table (adoption proportions by technology) | 
| 3.3.9. | Wide FoV AR combiner technology forecast (headset volume) | 
| 3.3.10. | Wide FoV AR combiner technology forecast table (headset units by technology) | 
| 3.3.11. | Wide FoV AR combiner technology forecast (revenue) | 
| 3.3.12. | Wide FoV AR combiner technology forecast table (combiner revenue by technology) | 
| 3.3.13. | Narrow FoV AR combiner technology forecast (adoption proportions) | 
| 3.3.14. | Narrow FoV AR combiner technology forecast table (adoption proportions by technology) | 
| 3.3.15. | Narrow FoV AR combiner technology forecast (headset volume) | 
| 3.3.16. | Narrow FoV AR combiner technology forecast table (headset units by technology) | 
| 3.3.17. | Narrow FoV AR combiner technology forecast (revenue) | 
| 3.3.18. | Narrow FoV AR combiner technology forecast table (combiner revenue by technology) | 
| 3.3.19. | Total AR combiner technology forecast (adoption proportions) | 
| 3.3.20. | Total AR combiner technology forecast table (adoption proportions by technology) | 
| 3.3.21. | Total AR combiner technology forecast (headset volume) | 
| 3.3.22. | Total AR combiner technology forecast table (headset units by technology) | 
| 3.3.23. | Total AR combiner revenue forecast | 
| 3.3.24. | Total AR combiner technology forecast table (combiner revenue by technology) | 
| 3.3.25. | Status and market potential of optical combiners | 
| 3.3.26. | AR combiner forecasts: Overall summary | 
| 3.4. | Market forecasts: Lenses for VR | 
| 3.4.1. | VR lens forecasting justification | 
| 3.4.2. | Pancake lenses: From niche to standard | 
| 3.4.3. | "Generations" of VR lens | 
| 3.4.4. | VR lens technology forecast (adoption proportions) | 
| 3.4.5. | VR lens technology forecast table (adoption proportions) | 
| 3.4.6. | VR lens technology forecast (headset volume) | 
| 3.4.7. | VR lens technology forecast table (headset volume containing optic) | 
| 3.4.8. | VR lens revenue forecast | 
| 3.4.9. | VR lens revenue forecast table | 
| 3.4.10. | Technological status of VR lens technologies | 
| 3.4.11. | VR lens forecasts: Overall summary | 
| 3.5. | High level optical material forecasts | 
| 3.5.1. | Material requirement forecasting methodology | 
| 3.5.2. | Methodology - material forecasting | 
| 3.5.3. | Material forecasts (volume): AR combiners (wide and narrow FoV combined) | 
| 3.5.4. | Material forecasts (mass): AR combiners (wide and narrow FoV combined) | 
| 3.5.5. | Material forecasts (volume): AR combiners (wide and narrow FoV combined) | 
| 3.5.6. | Material forecasts (mass): AR combiners (wide and narrow FoV combined) | 
| 3.5.7. | AR combiners: Identifying material opportunities (I) | 
| 3.5.8. | AR combiners: Identifying material opportunities (II) | 
| 3.5.9. | Material forecasts (volume): VR lenses | 
| 3.5.10. | Material forecasts (mass): VR lenses | 
| 3.5.11. | Material forecasts (volume): VR lenses | 
| 3.5.12. | Material forecasts (mass): VR lenses | 
| 3.5.13. | Material forecasting: Assumptions for geometric phase lens arrays | 
| 3.5.14. | VR lenses: Identifying material opportunities (I) | 
| 3.5.15. | VR lenses: Identifying material opportunities (II) | 
| 3.5.16. | Conclusions: Key material opportunities in AR/VR | 
| 3.5.17. | Advanced optical plastics - high volume with clear opportunities for innovation | 
| 3.5.18. | Liquid crystal photopolymer materials - specialized materials for a new paradigm in optics | 
| 3.5.19. | Photopolymers - enabling low-cost AR | 
| 4. | TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: OPTICAL COMBINERS/ WAVEGUIDES IN AR | 
| 4.1.1. | Optical combiners for AR | 
| 4.1.2. | Optical combiners: Definition and classification | 
| 4.1.3. | Waveguides vs other combiner types | 
| 4.1.4. | AR combiner technology players | 
| 4.2. | Waveguide combiners | 
| 4.2.1. | Common waveguide architectures | 
| 4.2.2. | Common waveguide architectures:  Operating principle and device examples | 
| 4.2.3. | Projector entry to waveguides | 
| 4.2.4. | Exit pupil expansion/replication makes headsets more usable and compact at the cost of efficiency | 
| 4.2.5. | Exit pupil expansion in waveguides | 
| 4.2.6. | Transmission and eye glow - measures of AR's social acceptability | 
| 4.2.7. | Waveguide substrate materials: Why refractive index matters | 
| 4.2.8. | Comparing glass suppliers for waveguide substrates | 
| 4.2.9. | Waveguide substrate materials: Glass vs polymers | 
| 4.2.10. | Matching substrates with waveguide designs | 
| 4.2.11. | Weight minimization in waveguides | 
| 4.2.12. | Comparison between waveguide methodologies | 
| 4.2.13. | Big Tech and AR: Focus on diffractive waveguides | 
| 4.2.14. | Big Tech and AR: What about Meta? | 
| 4.2.15. | Strategies in waveguide combiner supply | 
| 4.2.16. | Diffractive waveguides | 
| 4.2.17. | Introduction: Diffractive waveguides | 
| 4.2.18. | Diffractive waveguides: Method of operation | 
| 4.2.19. | Challenges of handling multiple colors with diffractive waveguides | 
| 4.2.20. | Surface relief gratings (SRG) | 
| 4.2.21. | Introduction: Surface relief grating waveguides | 
| 4.2.22. | Grating structures in SRG waveguides | 
| 4.2.23. | Manufacturing techniques for surface relief grating waveguides | 
| 4.2.24. | Manufacturing techniques for SRG waveguides: The next step | 
| 4.2.25. | Case study: Morphotonics and plate-scale NIL | 
| 4.2.26. | Manufacturing techniques for SRG waveguides: The next step | 
| 4.2.27. | Alternatives to nano-imprint lithography with spin coated resins | 
| 4.2.28. | Alternatives to nanoimprint lithography with spin coated resins | 
| 4.2.29. | The index matching problem for surface relief waveguides | 
| 4.2.30. | Direct etching for SRGs | 
| 4.2.31. | Surface relief diffractive waveguides in Microsoft's HoloLens 2: Ambitious design, unfortunate issues | 
| 4.2.32. | Microsoft's butterfly waveguide combiner for FoV expansion | 
| 4.2.33. | Magic Leap's headsets and the synergy between LCoS and SRG diffractive waveguides | 
| 4.2.34. | SRG waveguides in narrow FoV devices | 
| 4.2.35. | Diffractive Waveguides (SRG): SWOT Analysis | 
| 4.2.36. | Holographic gratings | 
| 4.2.37. | Introduction: Holographic grating waveguides | 
| 4.2.38. | The first commercial holographic waveguide: The Sony SED-100A | 
| 4.2.39. | Fabricating volume holographic waveguides | 
| 4.2.40. | DigiLens' manufacturing process | 
| 4.2.41. | DigiLens Argo and the commercial status of holographic waveguides in 2023 | 
| 4.2.42. | Switchable holographic waveguides for resolution expansion | 
| 4.2.43. | Holographic Diffractive Waveguides: SWOT Analysis | 
| 4.2.44. | Reflective waveguides | 
| 4.2.45. | Introduction: Reflective waveguides | 
| 4.2.46. | Manufacturing glass reflective waveguides | 
| 4.2.47. | Plastic reflective waveguides | 
| 4.2.48. | Diversity in reflective waveguide designs | 
| 4.2.49. | Lumus as a front runner in reflective waveguides | 
| 4.2.50. | Reflective waveguides: Development potential | 
| 4.2.51. | Reflective Waveguides: SWOT Analysis | 
| 4.3. | Non-waveguide combiners | 
| 4.3.1. | Simple reflective combiners | 
| 4.3.2. | Introduction: Simple reflective combiners | 
| 4.3.3. | Birdbath optics: Weapon of choice for lower-cost AR | 
| 4.3.4. | Prism-based birdbath optics | 
| 4.3.5. | Simplicity in AR: Freeform mirrors | 
| 4.3.6. | Bugeye combiners: Large-scale freeform mirrors | 
| 4.3.7. | Birdbath combiners: SWOT analysis | 
| 4.3.8. | Freeform mirror combiners: SWOT analysis | 
| 4.3.9. | Bugeye combiners (aka large freeform mirror combiners): SWOT analysis | 
| 4.3.10. | Freespace holographic optical element (HOE) combiners | 
| 4.3.11. | Introduction: Freespace holographic optical element (HOE) combiners | 
| 4.3.12. | HOE freespace combiners: Trouble taking off? | 
| 4.3.13. | HOE combiners: SWOT analysis | 
| 4.4. | Optical combiners: Technology benchmarking | 
| 4.4.1. | Introduction to combiner benchmarking | 
| 4.4.2. | Benchmarking criteria (I): Commercial factors | 
| 4.4.3. | Benchmarking criteria (II): Technological factors | 
| 4.4.4. | Benchmark scores: AR combiners | 
| 4.4.5. | Comparing glass waveguides | 
| 4.4.6. | Non-waveguide combiners vs waveguides | 
| 4.4.7. | Glass vs plastic substrates in diffractive waveguides | 
| 4.4.8. | Glass vs plastic substrates in reflective waveguides | 
| 4.4.9. | Ranking the performance of optical combiners | 
| 4.4.10. | Attribute importance in wide vs narrow FoV devices | 
| 4.4.11. | Narrow FoV AR benchmark performance | 
| 4.4.12. | Wide FoV AR benchmark performance | 
| 4.4.13. | AR combiner benchmarking: Conclusions to inform forecasting | 
| 4.5. | Encapsulation and prescription correction in AR | 
| 4.5.1. | Approaches to prescription correction in today's AR devices | 
| 4.5.2. | Future approaches to prescription correction: User-customization | 
| 4.5.3. | Why encapsulate waveguides with lenses? | 
| 4.5.4. | Ancillary lenses fill gaps in waveguide capabilities | 
| 4.5.5. | Static accommodation adjustment | 
| 4.5.6. | Prescription correction: 3D printing offers an elegant solution | 
| 4.5.7. | Meta, Luxexcel and AddOptics: The waveguide encapsulation market in flux | 
| 4.5.8. | Correcting the vergence-accommodation conflict | 
| 4.5.9. | Deep Optics and liquid crystal GRIN-kinoform lenses | 
| 4.5.10. | Summary: Encapsulation and prescription correction in AR | 
| 5. | TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: LENSES FOR VR | 
| 5.1.1. | The VR optics technology landscape | 
| 5.1.2. | Lenses in VR | 
| 5.1.3. | "Generations" of VR lens | 
| 5.2. | Dioptric lenses | 
| 5.2.1. | Fresnel lenses: The old standard in VR lenses | 
| 5.2.2. | Meta's patented hybrid Fresnel lens | 
| 5.2.3. | Other approaches to god ray mitigation | 
| 5.2.4. | Fresnel doublets | 
| 5.2.5. | Users modifying headsets | 
| 5.2.6. | Aspherical lenses at the high end in VR | 
| 5.2.7. | Fresnel lenses: SWOT analysis | 
| 5.2.8. | Aspherical lenses: SWOT analysis | 
| 5.3. | Catadioptric lenses | 
| 5.3.1. | What are pancake lenses? | 
| 5.3.2. | Pancake lenses: From niche to standard | 
| 5.3.3. | Comparing pancake vs Fresnel lens designs | 
| 5.3.4. | Artefacts in pancake vs Fresnel lenses | 
| 5.3.5. | Pancake lenses and new design possibilities | 
| 5.3.6. | Pancake lenses and the future of VR | 
| 5.3.7. | Other catadioptric lens designs | 
| 5.3.8. | Polarization-based pancake lenses: SWOT analysis | 
| 5.4. | Focus-tunable lenses | 
| 5.4.1. | Why is dynamically variable focus important for XR? | 
| 5.4.2. | Emerging lens technologies by TRL | 
| 5.4.3. | Solutions to the vergence-accommodation conflict for XR | 
| 5.4.4. | SWOT: VA conflict workarounds | 
| 5.4.5. | SWOT: Dynamic optics (focus tunable lenses) | 
| 5.4.6. | SWOT: "True 3D" displays | 
| 5.4.7. | "True 3D" displays | 
| 5.4.8. | Overview: "True 3D" displays as key competitors to focus-tunable lenses | 
| 5.4.9. | Light field displays: Reconstructing scenes from multiple viewpoints | 
| 5.4.10. | Avoiding the resolution limit: Sequential light field displays | 
| 5.4.11. | Case study: CREAL's light field near-eye displays | 
| 5.4.12. | Holography: Reconstructing wavefronts | 
| 5.4.13. | Computer-generated holography: Digital hologram generation | 
| 5.4.14. | VividQ: Holographic displays for AR | 
| 5.4.15. | Summary: "True 3D" displays as competitors to focus-tunable lenses | 
| 5.4.16. | Geometric/Pancharatnam-Berry phase lenses | 
| 5.4.17. | Introduction to geometric phase lenses | 
| 5.4.18. | Flat lenses: Diffractive optics, metasurfaces, liquid crystals and more | 
| 5.4.19. | Why geometric phase lenses matter | 
| 5.4.20. | What is geometric (Pancharatnam-Berry) phase? | 
| 5.4.21. | Optically anisotropic materials and GPLs | 
| 5.4.22. | Liquid crystals and switchable waveplates | 
| 5.4.23. | Liquid crystals in GPLs | 
| 5.4.24. | Metasurfaces: Another method to apply geometric phase | 
| 5.4.25. | Introduction to optical meta-surfaces | 
| 5.4.26. | Harvard: Manufacturing optical metamaterials | 
| 5.4.27. | Harvard: Applications for metalenses/metasurfaces | 
| 5.4.28. | MetaLenz: Metasurfaces for distributing light and imaging | 
| 5.4.29. | MetaLenz: Manufacturing metasurfaces via semiconductor fabrication | 
| 5.4.30. | Metamaterial Technologies develop rolling mask lithography | 
| 5.4.31. | Meta's GPL prototypes | 
| 5.4.32. | The vision for GPL use in headsets | 
| 5.4.33. | Geometric phase lenses for VR and AR: Production methods | 
| 5.4.34. | Other focus tunable lenses | 
| 5.4.35. | Tunable liquid crystal lenses | 
| 5.4.36. | Meta: Various approaches to solving the VAC | 
| 5.4.37. | Alvarez lenses | 
| 5.4.38. | Summary: Focus tunable lenses | 
| 5.5. | VR lenses: Technology benchmarking | 
| 5.5.1. | Introduction to VR lens benchmarking | 
| 5.5.2. | Benchmarking criteria (I): Commercial factors | 
| 5.5.3. | Benchmarking criteria (II): Technological factors | 
| 5.5.4. | Benchmark scores: VR lenses | 
| 5.5.5. | Comparing overall lens performance | 
| 5.5.6. | Ranking the performance of optical lenses | 
| 5.5.7. | Attribute importance in VR devices | 
| 5.5.8. | VR lens benchmark performance | 
| 5.5.9. | VR lens benchmarking: Conclusions to inform forecasting | 
| 6. | COMPANY PROFILES | 
| 6.1. | Addoptics | 
| 6.2. | Addoptics: 2023 Update | 
| 6.3. | Cambridge Mechatronics | 
| 6.4. | Deep Optics | 
| 6.5. | DigiLens | 
| 6.6. | Dispelix | 
| 6.7. | HTC Vive | 
| 6.8. | Inkron | 
| 6.9. | Kura Technologies | 
| 6.10. | Lenovo: The ThinkReality A3 | 
| 6.11. | LetinAR | 
| 6.12. | Limbak | 
| 6.13. | Limbak: Acquired by Apple? | 
| 6.14. | Lumus | 
| 6.15. | Luxexcel | 
| 6.16. | Luxexcel Acquired by Meta | 
| 6.17. | Lynx | 
| 6.18. | Lynx - Q2 2022 Update | 
| 6.19. | Meta (VR Optics) | 
| 6.20. | MICROOLED | 
| 6.21. | Mira Reality | 
| 6.22. | Mira Reality: Acquired by Apple | 
| 6.23. | Mojo Vision | 
| 6.24. | Morphotonics | 
| 6.25. | Oorym | 
| 6.26. | Optinvent | 
| 6.27. | Schott AG: Augmented/Mixed Reality Operations | 
| 6.28. | Sony (CES 2023) | 
| 6.29. | TruLife Optics | 
| 6.30. | Varjo | 
| 6.31. | VividQ | 
| 6.32. | VividQ and Dispelix: Pairing Holographic Displays with Waveguides | 
| 6.33. | VividQ: Visit and Tech Demo |