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Dispelix enables seamless integration of augmented reality into everyday life

Published: 14.12.2023

OtaNano infrastructure has been pivotal in the development of Dispelix’s pioneering waveguide display technology for extended reality (XR).

A man wearing glasses with heavy shadows covering his face stands in front of a grey wall. — Dispelix’s efficient waveguide technology enables XR glasses that look, wear, and feel like ordinary glasses. Photo: Dispelix.

Dispelix's early vision to initiate a new era of wearable augmented reality devices has positioned them as a top-tier startup. The company was founded in late 2015 by three Finnish research scientists. Dispelix is now an international company with over 150 employees representing 30 different nationalities.

Dispelix develops and delivers see-through waveguide combiners that are used as transparent displays in extended reality (XR) devices. These elegant, high-performance XR waveguides seamlessly combine the virtual with the real. The technology is suitable for a wide range of form factors, from eyewear to head-up displays. Their pioneering waveguide display technology enables leaders in the XR industry to realize their product visions.

Today, Dispelix has an extensive patent portfolio with over 150 patents granted. The company has attracted over EUR 50 million in venture capital funding – placing them among the topmost start-ups in Finland. In addition to Espoo, Dispelix now has offices in Joensuu in central Finland and subsidiaries in the United States and China.

The company has been utilizing OtaNano micro- and nanofabrication infrastructure from its beginnings. OtaNano’s facilities have had a central role in the development of Dispelix’s groundbreaking waveguide display technology, which enables the enjoyable, seamless, and meaningful integration of augmented reality into everyday life.

“Prototyping our breakthrough waveguides with OtaNano’s infrastructure has paved the way for Dispelix to grow into the company it is today.”

Joonas Heikkinen, Senior Process Engineer, Dispelix

A glasses lens stands upright against a white background. — The Dispelix Selvä LED waveguide is a thin and light, single-layer waveguide. It is part of Dispelix’s standard offering for eyeglass-form AR glasses. Image: Dispelix.

Dispelix

Diffractive surface relief waveguide combiners
Pioneers in the design and fabrication of single-layer, full-color waveguide combiners
From waveguide design and mastering to nanomanufacturing and metrology for mass production
Applications range from near-to-eye to head-up

About OtaNano

OtaNano's micro- and nanofabrication facilities include cleanroom facilities in Micronova providing processing lines for silicon CMOS, MEMS, III-V optoelectronics and thin film devices. These facilities account for just a portion of the total OtaNano infrastructure.

OtaNano comprises three primary facilities: Micronova, the Nanomicroscopy Centre and Low Temperature Laboratory. These facilities and their associated equipment are offered under open access principles, meaning academics and industry professionals alike are qualified to reserve and use this infrastructure.

The researchers utilized the exceptional facilities of Micronova Nanofabrication Cleanroom. Photo: Aalto University / Mikko Raskinen

Micronova is part of OtaNano - Finland's national research infrastructure for micro- and nanotechnology, jointly run by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University.

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The Aalto University Nanomicroscopy Center (NMC) provides high resolution microscopy to researchers, who come to work and collaborate using this high-quality equipment. The center is accessible to everyone.

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The Low Temperature Laboratory at Aalto University is one of the world centres in ultra-low temperature physics and technology. The leading position is based on vigorous in-house development and construction of sub-mK refrigerators.

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