Metasurface-driven OLED displays beyond 10,000 pixels per inch

Metasurface-based microdisplays Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have found wide application in high-resolution, large-area televisions and the handheld displays of smartphones and tablets. With the screen located some distance from the eye, the typical number of pixels per inch is in the region of hundreds. For near-eye microdisplays—for example, in virtual and augmented reality applications—the required pixel density runs to several thousand pixels per inch and cannot be met by present display technologies. Joo et al. developed a full-color, high-brightness OLED design based on an engineered metasurface as a tunable back-reflector. An ultrahigh density of 10,000 pixels per inch readily meets the requirements for the next-generation microdisplays that can be fabricated on glasses or contact lenses. Science , this issue p. 459