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.

All of the LCDs that are on the market today are based on linear polarizers at the top and at the bottom of the devices. These linear polarizers are responsible for the contrast ratio and they also absorb about 60% of the backlight which means that 40% of the light is lost.

In order to fix this problem, the two scientists replaced the bottom linear polarizer with a NWGP, but the top linear polarized was preserved. As the NWGP is light-recycling, the efficiency of the light was improved by 60%. Also, the NWGP is 200nm thick while the bottom linear polarizer is 210 micrometers thick which means that the LCDs will be thinner.

“We plan to work with our contract sponsor Chi-Mei Optoelectronics Corporation to make test devices for this new device configuration. In addition, we will apply this nano-wire grid polarizer technology to sunlight readable transflective LCDs for mobile devices and 3D displays. If the performance is good and cost is acceptable, then we expect this technology will have widespread applications in the consumer market in the near future,” concluded Zhibing Ge.