SiC waveguide costs could fall to ~$100 per unit, but an optics skeptic pushes back
chrisgrayson · x · 2026-10-29
A roundup of silicon carbide waveguide progress — the most expensive part of AR glasses — plus the author's critique of the material path.
- Moldnano-Westlake demonstrated a corrective-lens SiC waveguide with IP around it. Cited modeling: at 5,000–20,000 units/month on 8-inch wafers, per-unit cost drops to $100–135, vs $250–350 current pricing. Meta's Orion prototype reportedly cost $10,000/unit, dominated by the SiC waveguides.
- 100 tonnes of SiC ≈ 1.9M eight-inch wafers; AR glasses forecast for 2026 is only 1.31M units — a capacity/demand mismatch.
- China: Fanke Technology (linked to Shanghai Fanchuangwei) signed an intent agreement with Huangyan development zone — RMB 550M planned investment, pilot line 2027, 3.3-hectare base by 2028.
- The author is skeptical: optometrists say SiC isn't suitable for corrective eyewear, forfeiting that market, and passive SiC waveguides lack active properties like switchable (LCP) holograms.
Related event: Westlake University Slashes SiC Waveguide Cost to About $100(2 posts)→
More from Embodied
- NanoDreamer: A 750K-parameter world-model agent trained on a MacBook M5 Pro plays 5 MinAtar games — CatAstro_Piyush · 2026-10-29
- Dyna-2 trained on 1M+ hours of human video; data partner ships 450K hours monthly — Scobleizer · 2026-10-29
- Archon Robotics demos whole-body tactile intelligence: feeling inside a bag to grab items — micoolcho · 2026-10-29
- KUKA CEO on physical AI: how 600,000 deployed robots learn new tricks — lukas_m_ziegler · 2026-10-29
- Open-Source Stackchan Desk Robot Chats, Dances and Shows Memes — Full Build Guide Included — alexcovo_eth · 2026-10-29
- Robot steered by cloud AI: Dream Lab demos world-action model controlling MakerMods arms via public API — Scobleizer · 2026-10-29