Meta Outlines Strategy for Major Cost Reductions in Key Next-Gen AR Component

Meta’s Orion AR glasses prototype comes with a hefty price tag—each pair costing around $10,000. The main reason for this high cost is its custom silicon carbide waveguide lenses. Despite this, Meta is optimistic about finding ways to drastically cut down the expense of these essential components in the future.

Silicon carbide isn’t new; it has been primarily a key player in high-power chips due to its superior power efficiency and lower heat production. However, manufacturing it is quite a task compared to standard silicon, mainly because of its inherent material properties and the complex crystal growth process involved.

Interestingly, electric vehicles are paving the way for reducing these costs, but they still haven’t reached the affordability of their silicon counterparts. Another promising application of silicon carbide is in quantum computing, although it presents challenges different from what Meta aims to tackle with this advanced material.

Meta’s pursuit of silicon carbide isn’t driven by its efficiency in power and cooling. Rather, it’s the material’s high refractive index that makes it perfect for delivering clear and wide field-of-view (FOV) waveguides for AR glasses, like the outstanding 70-degree FOV present in Orion. Users who have experienced the difference between conventional multi-layered glass waveguides and Orion’s silicon carbide-based ones describe it as transformative.

“Wearing glasses with traditional glass-based waveguides is like attending a disco, with rainbows distracting from the AR content,” says Optical Scientist Pasqual Rivera. “But with silicon carbide waveguides, it feels like a serene symphony, bringing the AR experience into full focus. It’s a true game changer.”

In recent years, major electric vehicle manufacturers have adopted silicon carbide-based chips, which has contributed to lowering prices. Giuseppe Calafiore, Reality Lab’s AR Waveguides Tech Lead, notes that the current overcapacity, largely thanks to the EV industry, is driving the substrate cost down.

Though the silicon carbide wafers used in EVs aren’t suited for optical clarity since they’re optimized for electrical performance, opportunities remain. Barry Silverstein, Director of Research Science at Reality Labs, believes there’s potential in manufacturing optical-grade silicon carbide. As factories scale up, with some aiming for larger 12-inch wafers, this could lead to more affordable AR glasses production.

According to Silverstein, “The industry now recognizes silicon carbide’s versatility for both electronics and photonics, offering future applications in quantum computing and significant cost reduction potential await us.” It’s a material with promising prospects, but there’s much work ahead.

History shows that XR headsets have often benefitted from larger industries. In the early 2010s, affordable, palm-sized displays meant for smartphones played a crucial role in launching the consumer VR movement. The Oculus Rift DK2, released in 2014, for instance, utilized a display panel from the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

Apart from displays, components like inertial measurement units (IMUs), camera sensors, and batteries were borrowed from smartphones, creating a bridge between technologies. Although it’s not as straightforward to leverage silicon carbide advancements for AR glasses as it was with smartphone components, the groundwork exists.

For now, Meta isn’t ready to mass-produce Orion as consumer technology. Used as an “internal developer kit,” the company’s vision is to release a consumer-friendly pair of AR glasses by 2030, priced similarly to smartphones or laptops, as per Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth’s statement in September.

There’s enormous potential for mass-market appeal, and companies like Meta, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Qualcomm are all vying for a piece of the future mobile computing platform, aiming to ultimately replace smartphones.