SCHOTT introduces RealView® 2.0 lightweight glass wafers to advance the next generation of AI smart glasses

Enabling the next generation of AI smart glasses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming smart glasses from niche products into everyday digital companions. As the market moves toward smart glasses with bright, full-color visuals directly in the wearer’s field of view, the combination of performance, low weight, and mechanical durability becomes critical.

Latest waveguide technology is what makes this possible. To achieve compact full-color waveguide designs with a single optical layer, manufacturers increasingly require materials with refractive indices beyond 1.9 while maintaining low density and high mechanical robustness. To support this development, the international glass and material manufacturer introduces SCHOTT RealView^® 2.0 lightweight to its expanding family of lightweight optical high-index glass wafers for augmented reality applications.

"Consumer smart glasses are entering a new phase. Users expect lightweight glasses that combine immersive visual experiences with everyday durability," says Dr. Rüdiger Sprengard, Vice President Augmented Reality at SCHOTT. "With RealView^® 2.0 lightweight, we are providing optical designers with a material that combines excellent optical performance, light weight, and the robustness required for consumer products."

SCHOTT RealView^® 2.0 lightweight combines a high refractive index of 2.0 with a comparatively low density < 4 g/cm³, helping device manufacturers reduce overall system weight without compromising optical performance. The raw optical glass is produced at SCHOTT’s optical glass powerhouse in Mainz, Germany, before being further processed into wafers in Asia.

The magic of a tailor-made glass composition

Its distinguishing feature is a tailor-made specialty glass composition, offering multiple advantages for consumer devices. Drawing on more than 140 years of experience in specialty glass development and precision melting, SCHOTT combined characteristics rarely found together in a single material. Its engineers developed a glass that combines a high refractive index with outstanding optical properties, including excellent transmittance.

The glass offers high blue-light transmittance of more than 96% at 460 nm over a 10 mm optical path length, enabling brighter images to reach the user’s eyes. Certified testing laboratories have also confirmed the exceptional durability of SCHOTT RealView^® 2.0 lightweight, including resistance to scratches, impacts, and everyday mechanical stress. These properties make the glass particularly well suited for consumer electronics and wearable devices that must perform reliably over many years. In addition, the material significantly reduces processing risks throughout manufacturing, from wafer to waveguide.

"Our newest RealView^® glass wafers reflect years of research into advanced glass compositions," says Dr. Frederik Bachhuber, Senior Product Manager RealView® at SCHOTT. "By combining a refractive index of 2.0 with light weight enabled by the material’s low density, we have expanded the design possibilities for next-generation waveguides while staying true to the strengths of our material platform. Together with its high transmittance, this gives optical designers an unprecedented level of design freedom."

Expanding a proven material family

SCHOTT RealView^® 2.0 lightweight builds upon the established portfolio of lightweight high-index glass wafers, which already includes refractive indices starting at 1.9. Together, these materials provide device manufacturers with a broad range of solutions tailored to different waveguide architectures and performance requirements.

Rather than focusing on a single product, SCHOTT continues to develop an integrated family of advanced high-index wafers designed specifically for augmented reality. Additionally, the company continues expanding its footprint in geometric reflective waveguide (GRWG) production.

The globally unique AR optics-focused portfolio of optical glass, high-index diffractive wafers (SCHOTT RealView®), and geometric reflective waveguides reflects SCHOTT's long-term commitment to enabling the next generation of consumer smart glasses through continuous material innovation.

SCHOTT RealView^® is a registered trademark of SCHOTT AG.