Waveguides incorporating transmissive and reflective gratings and related methods of manufacturing

A method of fabricating a holographic waveguide, the method comprising:

• providing at least one light source, a layer of holographic recording material, and an at least partially reflective surface;
• forming first and second recording beams using said at least one light source;
• transmitting said first and second recording beams into said layer of holographic recording material;
• transmitting a portion of said first recording beam through said layer of holographic recording material towards said at least partially reflective surface;
• reflecting said transmitted portion of said first recording beam off said at least partially reflective surface back into said layer of holographic recording material;
• forming a transmission grating in said layer of holographic recording material using said first and second recording beams;
• and
• forming a reflection grating in said layer of holographic recording material using said reflected portion of said first recording beam and said second recording beam, wherein the transmission grating and the reflection grating are multiplexed.

A method of fabricating a holographic waveguide, the method comprising:

• providing a master grating, a substrate supporting a layer of recording material, a source of light, and an at least partially reflective surface disposed opposite to said master grating with respect to said layer of recording material;
• illuminating said master grating with light from said source of light to form a diffracted beam and a zero-order beam;
• reflecting said diffracted beam from said at least partially reflective surface;
• forming a transmission grating from said zero-order beam and said diffracted beam;
• and
• forming a reflection grating from said zero-order beam and said reflected diffracted beam, wherein the transmission grating and the reflection grating are multiplexed.