In a new research paper entitled "Holographic Optics for Thin and Lightweight Virtual Reality," Facebook Reality Labs researchers Andrew Maimone and Junren Wang have proposed a VR headset design that replaces the refractive lens with holographic optics and polarization-based optical folding.

Facebook's new proof-of-concept headset replaces this lens with holographic optics, which look like transparent stickers but bend light in the same way that a lens does.

Facebook Research likens it to the holographic image on your credit card, only instead of creating a 3D scene it creates a lens.

However, holographic optics alone aren't enough to give Facebook's headset its slim design.

As Facebook's prototype eschews bulky lenses, its holographic optics do the pancake folding instead.