Professor Rho Jun-suk (ME) and his team members suggested the idea of using metamaterials to make 3D hologram displays or reflective displays.
The metamaterial is a material structured to have properties that are not seen from naturally occurring materials. It is capable of manipulating electromagnetic waves to achieve benefits that cannot be derived from conventional materials. The research area of this material is broad and it has many potential applications.
The research team proposed to extend the application of metasurfaces to various display technologies. In particular, they reckon ‘reflective display’, which is one of the low power next-generation displays, and ‘3D hologram display’, a display that shoots 3D images in hologram, have a high possibility of being implemented.
Reflective displays are displays that show information with the light coming from outside. It does not have a light source unlike currently used LEDs so its energy consumption is low and the images are much clearer. This display may be used on home appliances such as TVs, but many kinds of research have been also conducted to use it as a large display that can be put on the exterior walls of buildings. The disadvantage of this display is that it is difficult to create colors due to the difficulty of controlling light but the nature of metamaterials will be enough to resolve this shortcoming.
3D hologram displays which appeared frequently in movies can also be made with meta-materials and its holographic property can be applied to security programs or anti-forgery technologies as well.
However, the research team mentioned that making meta-surface based on dielectric genes is an urgent priority in order to increase the efficiency of applying metamaterials to display technologies.
Professor Rho said that the research team will continue to study various ways to utilize metamaterials to future displays as well as security technologies.