Hybrid liquid crystal lens and method for driving thereof

A hybrid liquid crystal (LC) lens comprising:

• an index-matching LC lens;
• a Gradient Refractive Index (GRIN) LC lens, wherein the GRIN LC lens and the index-matching LC lens are arranged in a stacked configuration;
• a first driving circuit configured to drive the index-matching LC lens using a first drive signal, to produce a first optical power;
• a second driving circuit configured to drive the GRIN LC lens using a second drive signal, to produce at least one second optical power, wherein a combination of the at least one second optical power and the first optical power produces at least one third optical power of the hybrid LC lens;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• generate the first drive signal for the first driving circuit, based on the first optical power that is to be produced;
• generate the second drive signal for the second driving circuit, based on the at least one second optical power that is to be produced;
• determine the at least one third optical power that is to be produced by the hybrid LC lens, wherein when determining the at least one third optical power that is to be produced by the hybrid LC lens, the controller is configured to:
• process eye-tracking data, collected by an eye-tracking means that is communicably coupled to the controller, to determine an optical depth at which a user of the hybrid LC lens is looking;
• and
• select the at least one third optical power, based on the optical depth at which the user is looking;
• determine whether the at least one third optical power is equal to or greater than a maximum optical power producible by the index-matching LC lens;
• and
• determine the first optical power to be equal to the maximum optical power producible by the index-matching LC lens and determine the at least one second optical power to be equal to a difference between the at least one third optical power and the maximum optical power producible by the index-matching LC lens, when it is determined that the at least one third optical power is equal to or greater than the maximum optical power producible by the index-matching LC lens.