Oct 16 2007
A joint South Korea-U.S. research team said Tuesday that they have developed a new lighting material that greatly enhances liquid crystal display (LCD) clarity in an outdoor environment.
The new material, made with variable photonic crystals, mimics the powerful changes in the skin color of squids and octopuses. This method can control light fluctuations through a wide spectrum, including infrared and ultraviolet areas, and contributes to high-definition images.
Hanyang University's chemical professor in Seoul said the crystal is similar to the relectin protein that is responsible for color changes in the marine animals.
Current LCDs rely on color filters and so-called back lights, but images become hard to distinguish when such panels are used under the sun.
Variable photonic crystals have drawn the interest of many researchers worldwide owing to their ability to easily emit or refract light depending on external stimuli, making them ideal for next-generation light-emitting materials.
The findings made by the Hanyang team, and researchers led by Edwin Thomas, a material scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have been published in the latest on-line issue of Nature Materials journal.
"Tests have shown the new variable photonic crystals enjoy a 15-fold advantage in their ability to refract and control light emissions compared to existing light emitting materials," said Kang.
He added by simple "patterning" techniques of the crystals can allow them to molded into various shapes.
The expert said that once perfected, the new technology could be used in future display panels, chemical and bio sensors, lasers and fiber optics.