Meta is pushing the envelope with its innovative Orion AR glasses, but producing these cutting-edge gadgets comes at a steep price—about $10,000 per pair. The hefty price tag is largely due to the custom silicon carbide waveguide lenses. However, Meta remains optimistic, saying there’s potential to drastically cut costs for this crucial component down the line.
Initially used as a substrate for high-powered chips due to its efficient power management and reduced heat output, silicon carbide is not new to the tech world. Yet, crafting products from this material is no easy feat, as its unique properties and production complexities pose manufacturing challenges. While electric vehicles are pioneering a reduction in costs, reaching the affordability of silicon-based counterparts is still quite a journey. Although a blossoming field like quantum computing could benefit from silicon carbide, it faces its own hurdles separate from Meta’s vision for the material.
Meta’s interest in silicon carbide isn’t due to its power efficiency, but rather its high refractive index—an attribute that makes it perfect for crafting clear, wide field-of-view (FOV) waveguides. Orion boasts an impressive 70-degree FOV, which truly stands out when you compare its silicon carbide-based waveguides to conventional multi-layered glass ones. For those lucky enough to try it, the difference is astounding.
“Wearing glasses with traditional glass-based waveguides felt like a disco—rainbows everywhere, making it impossible to focus on the AR experience,” explains Optical Scientist Pasqual Rivera in a blog post. “Switching to silicon carbide waveguides was like sitting in a peaceful symphony; suddenly, you could engage with the full scope of our work. It was transformative.”
In recent years, top electric vehicle makers have adopted silicon carbide chips, which has gradually driven down costs. Reality Lab’s AR Waveguides Tech Lead, Giuseppe Calafiore, notes there’s now an excess supply that wasn’t available during Orion’s development. Due to the current supply-demand situation, substrate prices have begun to fall.
It’s important to mention that while silicon carbide wafers for EVs aren’t optical-grade—they focus more on electrical performance over clarity—Reality Labs’ Barry Silverstein sees an optimistic future: “Manufacturers are eager about producing optical-grade silicon carbide. Each lens represents a substantial material amount compared to an electronic chip, and they can leverage their existing capabilities in this new domain. Filling and scaling their factories are top priorities. Bigger wafers lower costs, but they also bring complexity. We’re seeing suppliers transition from four-inch to eight-inch wafers, and some are exploring precursors to 12-inch wafers, potentially yielding many more AR glasses.”
“The world is waking up to the potential,” Silverstein continues. “Silicon carbide has proven itself in electronics and photonics. Its future might even stretch into quantum computing, and signs suggest cost reductions are on the horizon. We have a ways to go, but the payoff could be tremendous.”
This wouldn’t be the first instance of XR headsets reaping benefits from larger industries. The early 2010s saw cost-effective small displays developed for smartphones catalyze the consumer VR revolution. For instance, the Oculus Rift DK2, released in 2014, housed a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 display panel—a testament to the borrowed innovation from the smartphone industry.
Additionally, numerous components from the smartphone market have found their way into XR devices over the years, including IMUs, camera sensors, and battery technologies. However, utilizing the advances in silicon carbide prompted by the EV sector appears to be a more complex endeavor for AR glasses.
While manufacturers eye photonics-grade silicon carbide, it remains a niche market that will take years to mature and scale. This is one major reason Meta hasn’t been able to commercially launch Orion yet. However, they are using Orion as an “internal developer kit,” aiming for a consumer-ready AR headset by 2030, priced similarly to a phone or laptop, according to Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth.
Given the immense potential for consumer interest, it seems these intricate pieces will eventually fit together. With powerhouses like Meta, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Qualcomm in the mix, each is vying to capture a segment of what they envision as the next evolution in mobile computing—a technology poised to eventually surpass smartphones.
