Repurposed solar panel research could be the foundation for a new ultrahigh-resolution microdisplay. The OLED display would feature brighter images with purer colors and more than 10,000 pixels per inch.
Such high-pixel-density displays will be able to provide stunning images with true-to-life detail — something that will be even more important for headset displays designed to sit just centimeters from our faces.
The advance is based on research by Stanford University materials scientist Mark Brongersma in collaboration with the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT). Brongersma was initially put on this research path because he wanted to create an ultra-thin solar panel design.
«We’ve taken advantage of the fact that, on the nanoscale, light can flow around objects like water,» said Brongersma, who is a professor of materials science and engineering and senior author of the Oct. 22 Science paper detailing this research. «The field of nanoscale photonics keeps bringing new surprises and now we’re starting to impact real technologies. Our designs worked really well for solar cells and now we have a chance to impact next generation displays.»
In addition to having a record-setting pixel density the new «metaphotonic» OLED displays would also be brighter and have better color accuracy than existing versions, and they’d be much easier and cost-effective to produce as well.
Hidden gems
At the heart of an OLED are organic, light-emitting materials. These are sandwiched between highly-reflective and semi-transparent electrodes that enable current injection into the device. When electricity flows through an OLED, the emitters give off red, green or blue light. Each pixel in an OLED display is composed of smaller sub-pixels that produce these primary colors. When the resolution is sufficiently high, the pixels are perceived as one color by the human eye. OLEDs are an attractive technology because they are thin, light and flexible and produce brighter and more colorful images than other kinds of displays.
Story Source: Materials provided by Stanford University. Original written by Taylor Kubota. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.