3D Laser Displays Based on Circularly Polarized Lasing from Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Arrays

TLDR

3D laser displays are poised to become next‑generation visual technologies, and circularly polarized (CP) laser emissions offer enhanced contrast and comfort for such displays, yet the absence of pixelated, self‑emissive CP microlaser arrays has limited their practical use. The authors demonstrate full‑color 3D laser displays by employing inkjet‑printed cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) arrays that emit CP light. Individual CP lasers are achieved by embedding fluorescent dyes into CLCs whose left‑ or right‑handed helical superstructures act as distributed‑feedback microcavities, yielding an ultrahigh circular polarization degree (g_em = 1.6). The resulting CP microlaser pixels exhibit excellent color‑rendering and a wide gamut, enabling proof‑of‑concept full‑color 3D displays that project orthogonal CP emissions to each eye, underscoring their promise for advanced display systems.

Abstract

Abstract 3D laser displays play an important role in next‐generation display technologies owing to the ultimate visual experience they provide. Circularly polarized (CP) laser emissions, featuring optical rotatory power and invariability under rotations, are attractive for 3D displays due to potential in enhancing contrast ratio and comfortability. However, the lack of pixelated self‐emissive CP microlaser arrays as display panels hinders the implementation of 3D laser displays. Here, full‐color 3D laser displays are demonstrated based on CP lasing with inkjet‐printed cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) arrays as display panels. Individual CP lasers are realized by embedding fluorescent dyes into CLCs with their left‐/right‐handed helical superstructures serving as distributed feedback microcavities, bringing in ultrahigh circular polarization degree values ( g em = 1.6). These CP microlaser pixels exhibit excellent far‐field color‐rendering features and a relatively large color gamut for high‐fidelity displays. With these printed CLC red–green–blue (RGB) microlaser arrays serving as display panels, proof‐of‐concept full‐color 3D laser displays are demonstrated via delivering images with orthogonal CP laser emissions into one's left and right eyes. These results provide valuable enlightenment for the development of 3D laser displays.