Meta Outlines Strategy for Major Cost Reduction in Next-Gen AR’s Key Component

Meta’s Orion augmented reality (AR) glasses prototype is turning heads, and not just for its cutting-edge technology. At a staggering $10,000 per pair, it’s the custom silicon carbide waveguide lenses driving up costs. But, according to Meta, there’s hope that this crucial component will see cost reductions in the future.

Silicon carbide isn’t new—it’s been a staple in high-power chips for its efficiency and lower heat emissions. However, manufacturing it is a whole different ball game compared to silicon, primarily due to its complex material properties and fabrication process.

While electric vehicles are making headway in bringing these costs down, we’re not yet near the affordable price point of silicon-based options. There’s also potential in quantum computing for silicon carbide, but that’s a future Meta isn’t focused on right now.

For Meta, it’s not about silicon carbide’s power efficiency. The real attraction is the material’s high refractive index, which enables crystal clear, wide field-of-view (FOV) waveguides, like the impressive 70-degree FOV in the Orion glasses. For those who’ve worn glasses with conventional glass waveguides versus Meta’s silicon carbide ones, the experience is transformative.

Optical Scientist Pasqual Rivera equated using conventional multi-layered glass-based waveguides to being in a distracting “disco,” versus the refined symphony of silicon carbide waveguides that focus you on the AR content—a game changer, indeed.

The proliferation of silicon carbide in electric vehicles over recent years has helped lower costs, as Giuseppe Calafiore, the AR Waveguides Tech Lead at Reality Labs, points out. With a surplus in the market, prices for the substrate have begun to fall, thanks to a shift from a supply-demand imbalance to a current oversupply.

Yet, the silicon carbide wafers used in EVs aren’t at the optical-grade clarity needed for AR, meaning Meta can’t just use these surplus materials. Still, Reality Labs’ Barry Silverstein talks of a promising road ahead. Manufacturers are excited to tap into this new opportunity, scaling up capabilities to produce large optical-grade wafers—going from four-inch to eight-inch, and even aiming for 12-inch wafers, which could vastly increase AR glasses production.

“The world’s more aware now,” Silverstein said, noting the material’s potential not just in electronics and photonics, but possibly in quantum computing. Cost reduction is feasible, he believes, and the potential gains are enormous.

This isn’t the first time AR and VR technologies have tapped into larger industries. Back in the early 2010s, smartphone displays played a pivotal role in the VR headset boom. Remember the Oculus Rift DK2? Inside, you’ll find a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 display.

Other smartphone components like inertial measurement units (IMUs), camera sensors, and battery technology have also found their way into VR and AR tech over the years. However, incorporating silicon carbide, spurred by the electric vehicle market, into AR glasses isn’t straightforward.

Although suppliers are exploring photonics-grade silicon carbide, scaling it remains a challenge. It’s one reason Meta isn’t ready to roll out Orion to consumers right now. Instead, Orion is serving as an “internal developer kit” while Meta eyes a market launch of consumer-grade AR glasses before 2030, aiming for a price in the realm of smartphones and laptops, revealed CTO Andrew Bosworth.

With such massive consumer potential, it’s only a matter of time before these technological pieces fall into place. Powerhouses like Meta, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Qualcomm are all in the race to dominate the next ubiquitous computing platform—a platform they hope will eventually replace smartphones entirely.