By designing nanopixels that encode two sets of information—or colors of light—within the same pixel, researchers have developed a new method for making 3D color prints. Each pixel can exhibit one of two colors depending on the polarization of the light used to illuminate it. So by viewing the pixels under light of both polarizations, two separate images can be seen. If the two images are chosen to be slightly displaced views of the same scene, viewing both simultaneously results in depth perception and the impression of a 3D stereoscopic image. The researchers, led by Professor Joel K.W. Yang, at A*STAR (the Agency for Science, Technology and Research) in Singapore, the National University of Singapore, and the Singapore University of Technology and Design, have published a paper on the new technique for realizing 3D full-color stereoscopic prints in a recent issue of Nature Communications. We have created possibly the smallest-ever stereoscopic images using pixels formed from plasmonic nanostructures, Yang told Phys.org. Such stereoscopic images do not require the viewer to don special glasses, but instead, the depth perception and 3D effect is created simply by viewing the print through an optical microscope coupled with polarizers. The work is based on the concept of surface plasmon resonance: metal nanostructures can scatter different wavelengths (colors) of light due to the fact that the tiny nanostructures themselves resonate at different wavelengths. If a nanostructure is circular, its resonance is polarization-independent because the diameter of the circle is the same from all directions. However, if a nanostructure is biaxial (such as an ellipse or rectangle), its resonance will depend on the polarization of the incident light. By tailoring the exact dimensions of the biaxial nanopixels, researchers can generate different colors under different polarizations. phys.org/news/2014-11-d-stereoscopic-nanopixels.html
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 10:29:00 +0000
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