Microsoft Research has come up with a novel pixel design that could lead to displays that are faster, brighter and more power efficient than LCDs. The design, published in Nature Photonics, is much simpler and easier because it involves a pixel that uses a pair of mirrors to block or transmit light. Currently, LCDs hoard most of the market for television, computers and cell phones, but do not offer the best image quality since pixels do not turn completely off and take and take an average of 25-40 milliseconds to switch between colours, resulting in blurred fast-moving images. LCDs are also difficult to use in bright light. Michael Sinclair reports that the telescopic pixels switch completely on and off in 1.5ms ensuing in cost-efficient colour displays. The Microsoft pixel design also reduces the complexity of LCDs since red, green, and blue LEDs can be kept behind separate pixels, instead of behind each pixel, to have them sequentially light up to create different shades. The telescopic pixels are also brighter, even under light, since they allow 36% of the light through as against only 5-10% in pixels of an LCD. We hope this research results in something that is marketable and also affordable. This might replace the small desktop monitor on which one has to switch between windows, and one can have whiteboard-sized thin screen to work on.
Via: TechnologyReview
