Improved under-display illumination is provided for display modules integrated in electronic devices. For example, a display module can include a number of display micro-structures, such as pixels and electrodes. Much of the illumination energy from conventional under-display illumination (e.g., for backlighting) can tend to be blocked by the micro-structures and can also tend to damage the micro-structures. Novel arrangements of optical structures are provided herein to output under-display illumination energy and to direct the energy in a manner that passes completely or mostly through gaps between the display micro-structures. Some implementations provide additional features, such as light conditioning to facilitate transmission of light energy through a dark coating layer, and/or use of multiple optical structures to provide illumination energy with different optical characteristics.