Samsung Research, along with South Korea’s POSTECH, has published a paper in the journal Nature about a breakthrough in display technology. The company is working on a switchable 2D/3D system that works without glasses and eye-tracking hardware.
The system doesn’t even add meaningful bulk to a display. It is built around what is called a Metasurface Lenticular Lens, an ultra-thin optical layer that’s just 1.2mm thick, made up of nanoscale structures that control how light behaves, and, in the process, how we perceive the light being emitted by the display.
How does the technology actually work?
Using voltage control, the lens toggles between two modes, based on the polarisation of light. In 2D mode, the lens acts as a concave element, allowing light to pass through for a sharp, high-resolution flat or two-dimensional image, which is what we see on screens all around us, on our smartphones, laptops, regular TVs, etc.
It is in this mode that the image will be ideal for reading, browsing, or other everyday tasks. However, when you flip it to 3D mode, the same lens turns convex, bending light to create depth and stereoscopic perspective without requiring any glasses.
It’s worth mentioning that this is the first meta-optical system that can switch from 2D to 3D in a single device using only voltage control.
Why does this matter so much?
The team has come up with a large-area metalens (50x50mm) and tested it on OLED panels, which, you must already know, is the same panel technology that is used on most smartphones today (and even on some TVs and laptops).
Previously, glasses-free 3D displays suffered from a narrow viewing angle of only around 15°, implying that you had to sit perfectly straight to maintain the 3D effect. However, Samsung’s technology delivers a 100° viewing angle, which is more than six times wider.
This should allow not just one but multiple people to experience 3D content simultaneously, and that too, from different positions. The applications of this technology could span tablets, augmented reality, medical imaging, and everyday smartphone or television units.
Keep in mind that there’s no product launch tied to this announcement (yet). However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the glasses-free 3D mechanism, tested on OLED panels, with a wider viewing angle, is a breakthrough advancement in display technology.