The world of LCD screens could be changed for the better in the near future thanks to a breakthrough of two scientists from the University of Central Florida, Orlando. Zhibing Ge and Shin-Tson Wu used nanoimprinting technology to improve that contrast ratio in LCDs. Thanks to the nano-sized polarizers, soon we could have brighter, lighter, and thinner LCD TVs, mobile screens, and computer monitors.
The scientists were able to develop such a display thanks to a so-called nanowire grid polarizer, or NWGP, which is used for backlight recycling and which improves the optical efficiency of a LCD which also leads to a decrease of the power consumption.
“The method for fabricating large area wire-grid polarizers is advancing rapidly, benefiting from the huge research momentum of nano-imprinting technology. Nowadays, it is possible to fabricate NWGPs with a pitch of 100 nanometers or smaller. Different from the reflective polarizers made from multilayer films, WGP is a grating structure which can exhibit a very high transmission contrast ratio. As a result, it holds potential for replacing the bottom sheet LP which is close to the backlight side in a LCD,” said Shin-Tson Wu.
