Displays employing astigmatic optics and aberration compensation

A display for providing an image to an eye of an observer, the display comprising:

• (a) an image generator providing image illumination corresponding to the image;
• (b) a substrate having mutually-parallel first and second major external surfaces;
• (c) an intermediate optical arrangement configured for directing the image illumination from said image generator so as to propagate within said substrate in a first in-plane direction by internal reflection from said first and second major external surfaces, said intermediate optical arrangement including at least one astigmatic optical element such that the image illumination propagating within said substrate is collimated in a plane perpendicular to said first major external surface and is non-collimated in a plane parallel to said first major external surface;
• (d) a reflective optical arrangement having cylindrical optical power, said reflective optical arrangement being integrated with said substrate for reflecting at least part of the image illumination so as to propagate in a second in-plane direction by internal reflection from said first and second major external surfaces, said image illumination after reflection from said reflective optical arrangement being collimated image illumination collimated both in a plane perpendicular to, and in a plane parallel to, said first major external surface;
• and
• (e) a coupling-out arrangement for coupling out at least part of said collimated image illumination towards an eye of an observer,
• wherein said reflective optical arrangement has a characteristic aberration, and wherein said intermediate optical arrangement includes at least one element deployed to generate a corrective optical aberration that at least partially cancels out with said characteristic aberration of said reflective optical arrangement.