Researchers from the University of Nottingham Trent in the UK, the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales Canberra have developed a proof-of-concept display technology that can replace the LCD panels common in many of today’s large-screen televisions.
Some modern high-end TVs may feature quantum dot displays or OLED panels, but many of the cheaper models available use LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology, polarizing filters, and LED backlighting. Use the. But researchers say the development of this kind of technology has reached its limits.
Dragomir Neshev, professor of physics at the Australian National University, said: “Today, there is a demand for fully solid-state flat display technology with high resolution and fast refresh rates. , our pixels don’t need polarized light to work, halving the screen’s energy consumption.”
To control individual pixels at high modulation speeds, the proof-of-concept platform employs a transparent conductive oxide to act as an electrically driven heater, allowing rapid modification of the optical properties of silicon metasurface cells. 200 times thinner than a liquid crystal cell or a human hair. This technology results in a response time of less than 1 millisecond, ten times faster than the detection limit of the human eye.
Khosro Zangeneh Kamali, Australian National University
Professor Andrey Miroshnichenko, University of New South Wales, Canberra, said: “Additionally, silicon is widely available, and CMOS is compatible with mature technology and cheap to manufacture.”
The technology can also be used for dynamic VR holography in LiDAR technology, allowing thinner flat panels to be produced with 100x higher resolution than current LCD-based screens while cutting power consumption in half.
Moreover, researchers believe that metasurface arrays can effectively replace the liquid crystal layer in today’s displays, so manufacturers won’t need to invest in entirely new production lines to produce the panels.
This project will look at scaling up the technology for big-screen TVs and further improving metasurface performance using AI and machine learning.
“By replacing the liquid crystal layer in current displays with a metasurface, we have paved the way for breaking down technological barriers, making it possible to create affordable flat screens without liquid crystals,” Faculty of Science and Engineering. “The most important metrics for flat panel displays are pixel size and resolution, weight and power consumption. We addressed each of these in our meta display concept.
“Most importantly, our new technology will lead to a significant reduction in energy consumption, which is great news given the number of monitors and TVs used daily in homes and businesses. LCD and LED displays will be phased out over the next 10 to 20 years, much like the cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions before them.”
Research paper published in journal Light: science and application.
Source: Nottingham Trent University, Australian National University, University of New South Wales Canberra
