Full-Color Displays From One Spiffy Crystal

Add another method for making displays — it offers full-color, flexibility, and the promise of higher efficiency. In a Nature Photonics paper, researchers reported using photonic crystals to create a paper-like display. Silica microspheres are arranged in each pixel in a pattern that is much like an opal. The pattern blocks some colors and reflects others, depending on their spacing — which can be changed by stretching the crystals.

A New Scientist article suggests that displays based on photonic crystals could be commercialized as soon as two years from now. What is your opinion? Will manufacturing the pattern and stretching technology prove simpler than manufacturing current displays that depend on phosphors or filters?

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