It's Only Blurry Because It's Magnified The world's smallest University of Michigan logo, magnified thousands of times. University of Michigan News Service

Nano-thin sheets of metal can be used to build a tiny high-definition display, according to University of Michigan researchers. They built a 9-micron-high image of their logo to prove it.

The pixels in the display are an order of magnitude smaller than those on a typical computer screen. They are roughly eight times smaller than the pixels on the iPhone 4.

The display involves sheets of metal with precisely spaced slits that act as resonators, trapping and transmitting light at different wavelengths. It consists of two metal sheets sandwiching a dialectric (non-conducting) material. This eliminates the multiple polarizers, color filters, chemicals, glass and liquid crystals required to make an LCD, according to Jay Guo, an associate electrical engineering professor at the University of Michigan.

The nano-pixels could be handy for projection displays, tiny displays and wearable, bendy displays, Guo says. They waste less light than an LCD, which could make them energy-efficient to boot.

White light can be rendered into any color in the spectrum simply by changing the space between the slits, Guo says. Red light emanates from slits set 360 nanometers apart, and green from slits about 270 nanometers apart, for instance.

Apparently, its favorite color is Big Blue.

[Linux for Devices]

8 Comments

Okay, how much would it cost to incorporate this tech onto a 56" screen, utilizing Super Ultra High Definition video content?

Also, how bright would it be? How's the black level? How's the refresh rate? Does it even have a refresh rate in the regular sense? Or would it be like watching a slide show? Would there be flicker or anything else to cause eye strain?

rpenri
this is the first stage of developmentm like the very begining of LCD displays when the number of pixels could be counted on one hand with a finger to spare and the refresh rate was slower then ice melting ;)
but look at LCD monitors now.
LCD is like looking through sunglasses you need a really bright light to make a clear image even when you want the light to come through.
but if I understand this right this is like an open window all the light gets through for a brighter image and when tuned to block light no visable light can get through
and it works on a nano scale, like a DLP projector the pixels should be super fast.
when they get it developed that is :)

With just a little more resolution, perhaps a reflective or transmission hologram plate could be made. Then with red, green and blue lasers, a 3 dimensional color holographic image could be generated.

Wow youre a pit bull dude. No one is pitching you an idea for your investment rpenri. How about: "Cool, they made another great advancement in display tech, that hopefully one day soon, will fulfill my dreams of having a display on my t-shirt playing a cool video." Or Porn. your choice. Laws vary from state to state.

@ cadillac

WTF are you talking about? Your post made absolutely no sense.

You're trying to tell me what I should be saying or thinking? How about you figure out what you want to say coherently before you start suggesting to other people what they should or shouldn't do, okay?

First of all, don't tell me what I should be asking...that's up to me.

Two, I don't care if no one is pitching ideas to me or not. Neither are people asking YOU for your input...because T-shirts with screens on them playing porn is SO great, huh?

That's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Not only is it completely idiotic and tacky, how would you ever watch the screen? Look at yourself with mirror? You wear a shirt with a screen just so people can see a video on your shirt? As fashion, that's about the dumbest thing, ever. That ranks up there on the Stupid Meter with those idiots who put flat screens on the back of their SUVs so cars behind them can watch porn when at a red light.

I wonder how bad the glare would be on these nanomaterial screens. I do enjoy the fact that HDTV's will become much more environmental friendly with an application like this.

You need to chill out rpenri. You're first post is ridiculous, and you're second post makes you sound crazy and paranoid. If you can't understand cadillac's post you must be illiterate or something.

The point is your a negative di*k. Be happy. Life is good. This is a break through that will be able to deliver Super hi def on multiple surfaces for multiple functions including "paper" displays. it doesnt have to be small idiot. This technology will incorporate to give you 1080p and higher with normal refresh rates and crisp black levels, and all the little bull crap you read from your tv manual.

Dont worry. You will be able to watch your harry potter blu rays too. not just porn which was a joke btw.

and the last point was to express yourself not watch a video on your chest numb nuts. Dont you have an iphone or a 56 inch tv for that yet?

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