Arseniy Kuznetsov | Agency for Science, Technology and Research: How does trapping light with optical resonances allow LCoS displays to use ultra-thin liquid crystal cells?
03:58 - 05:50
Other snippets from this talk
Summary of the clip:
How does trapping light with optical resonances allow LCoS displays to use ultra-thin liquid crystal cells?
The approach starts with an advanced CMOS node: 40 nanometres for the first demonstration, with voltages allowing 22 nanometres. That shrinks electronics toward one-micron pixel pitches, potentially half a micron. Higher nodes are also more energy efficient, lowering chip power consumption and enabling driver integration on the chip, making the system more compact.
This CMOS is combined with very thin liquid crystal cells. Thinner cells reduce crosstalk by reducing the region field between pixels, which matters for small pixels. They also increase speed: the thinner the cell, the faster switching. And they decrease the voltage typically needed to switch the cell. That sounds excellent, but simply combining these first two elements means the display will not work.
In a standard LCoS display, a certain liquid crystal thickness is needed just to accumulate the liquid crystal effect. The liquid crystal must rotate light polarization sufficiently to provide enough reflected light. For very thin cells, the display is not displaying. The innovation introduces metamaterials inside the liquid crystal cell. In metamaterials, it is typically all about resonances, optical resonances.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Advanced CMOS nodes can shrink LCoS electronics to one-micron pitches, potentially half a micron, while lowering power and allowing on-chip driver integration.
* Very thin liquid crystal cells reduce the region field between pixels, crosstalk and switching voltage, and increase switching speed.
* Metamaterial optical resonances are introduced inside the liquid crystal cell because standard LCoS needs enough thickness for sufficient polarization rotation and reflected light.
📋 **Clip Abstract** One-micron LCoS pixels can be built by combining advanced CMOS nodes with ultra-thin liquid crystal cells, but standard LCoS needs sufficient liquid crystal thickness to rotate polarization and reflect enough light. The proposed solution introduces metamaterials inside the cell, using optical resonances to make the thin cell work.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Arseniy Kuznetsov
* Companies: Agency for Science, Technology and Research
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#Metamaterials, #OpticalResonance, #ThinLiquidCrystalCell, #OneMicronPixel, #LCoSDisplays, #ARDisplays
This is a highlight of the presentation:
One-micron pixel LCoS displays based on metasurface-integrated liquid crystal cells
More Highlights from the same talk.
02:11 - 03:41
How can metasurface integration overcome the physical pixel pitch and switching speed limitations of conventional LCoS displays?
How can metasurface integration overcome the physical pixel pitch and switching speed limitations of conventional LCoS displays?
Conventional LCoS pixel pitch is limited to roughly three to four microns. That introduces a relatively large form factor, which becomes critical for wider fields of view: more pixels mean a bigger panel, and glasses simply cannot accommodate it. Form factor, therefore, matters. The speaker frames LCoS as a temporal solution while microLEDs arrive, but says the limitations are real and must be addressed directly.
Speed is the second constraint, mentioned repeatedly, because slow switching produces color breakup. Power consumption is the third: lowering it matters, and zonal illumination is described as an excellent approach, though switching pixels at lower power is also wanted. The talk targets all of these simultaneously rather than trading one against another, which is why the new cell design is presented as addressing pitch, speed and power together.
The demonstrated device reaches one-micron pixel pitch, with a path to 0.7 micron and probably even half a micron. That cuts the active-area form factor by more than 10X versus what is on the market. Switching moves into the kilohertz range for standard vertically aligned liquid crystal, not FLC, and each pixel consumes only one volt, a significant power reduction.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Conventional LCoS pitch stops at three to four microns, forcing panels too large for wide-field-of-view glasses.
* Slow switching causes color breakup, and power draw is the third limitation addressed alongside zonal illumination.
* The one-micron device, scalable toward 0.7 and half a micron, cuts active-area form factor over 10X, reaches kilohertz in standard vertically aligned liquid crystal and uses one volt per pixel.
📋 **Clip Abstract** The talk argues that LCoS's three-to-four-micron pitch ceiling, slow switching and power draw are not fixed constraints. A new cell design demonstrates one-micron pixels with a path to 0.7 and half a micron, kilohertz operation in standard vertically aligned liquid crystal, and one volt per pixel.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Arseniy Kuznetsov
* Companies: Agency for Science, Technology and Research
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#OneMicronPixelPitch, #VerticallyAlignedLC, #KilohertzSwitching, #ZonalIllumination, #LCoSDisplays, #Microdisplays
08:53 - 11:15
What switching speeds and contrast ratios can be achieved by integrating resonant metamaterials into thin liquid crystal cells?
What switching speeds and contrast ratios can be achieved by integrating resonant metamaterials into thin liquid crystal cells?
With thin liquid crystal layers the cells provide faster speed. The backplane drives the liquid crystals at 300 frames per second, which limits the frame rate but not the switching speed. Measured rise plus fall time is smaller than one millisecond, meaning the device can switch in the one-kilohertz range already. The presenter says this is not a limit; thin liquid crystal cells can be pushed higher.
Contrast is the second important characteristic. Applying voltage over a very narrow range of just one volt moves the cell from zero to around a few thousand, two to three thousand. That jump is amplified by resonant effects inside the cell. High contrast from a one-volt range allows the use of advanced CMOS nodes. These graphs were experimental measurements, and the resonant amplification is what makes the narrow-voltage operation possible.
Simulations compare metamaterial cells with liquid crystal cells that lack resonant amplification. For red, green and blue, the metamaterial case switches strongly; without resonances, within the same voltage range switching is very weak. The presenter states that the same display without resonances inside will not work. Once resonances are present, polarization rotation is significantly amplified and the device works. Liquid crystals can also be used for phase modulation.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Rise plus fall time below one millisecond lets thin liquid crystal cells switch in the one-kilohertz range.
* A one-volt voltage window produces contrast of two to three thousand, amplified by resonant effects.
* Simulations show that without metamaterial resonances, the same cell's switching is very weak and the display will not work.
📋 **Clip Abstract** Thin liquid crystal cells driven by a 300-frame-per-second backplane achieve rise-plus-fall switching below one millisecond, enabling one-kilohertz operation that is not considered a limit. Resonant metamaterial amplification within a one-volt window lifts contrast to two to three thousand, and simulations confirm that removing those resonances leaves switching too weak for the display to work.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Arseniy Kuznetsov
* Companies: Agency for Science, Technology and Research
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#MetasurfaceLCoS, #ResonantMetamaterialCell, #ThinLiquidCrystal, #OneVoltContrast, #LCoSDisplays, #OpticalPhaseModulation
06:50 - 08:51
What are the specifications and physical dimensions of the world's smallest full-colour LCoS display prototype?
What are the specifications and physical dimensions of the world's smallest full-colour LCoS display prototype?
The prototype is a VGA display with 640 by 480 pixels and a pixel pitch of only 1.1 micrometres. Its active area measures half a millimetre by 0.7 millimetres, roughly ten times smaller by area than conventional LCoS with three-point-something-micrometre pixels. The chip itself is about one dime. It runs at 300 frames per second, defined by the driving, and achieves still very high contrast. Reducing liquid crystal thickness also lowers voltage.
The display area is illuminated by red, green and blue lasers, which show non-uniformity from speckles but demonstrate the display works with all three colours simultaneously. For full colour, LCoS requires colour sequential addressing: red, green and blue light sent one after another. LEDs are better because they avoid speckles. The setup uses three red, green and blue LEDs, illuminating one after another to display the full-colour image.
Each pixel reflects all three colours in a colour sequential manner. The active area remains only 0.5 millimetres by 0.7 millimetres, yet this is a full-colour display. The speaker calls it by far the smallest display he has ever seen and invites anyone who disagrees to say so. It is a first demonstration, with the chip shown next to a dime for scale.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The VGA prototype has a 640 by 480 pixel array with a 1.1-micrometre pixel pitch and an active area of only half a millimetre by 0.7 millimetres.
* Colour is generated by sequential red, green and blue illumination, first demonstrated with lasers and then with speckle-free LEDs.
* The display runs at 300 frames per second, achieves high contrast, and is claimed to be the smallest full-colour LCoS display seen.
📋 **Clip Abstract** The clip presents a VGA LCoS prototype with 640 by 480 pixels, a 1.1-micrometre pixel pitch, and a 0.5 by 0.7 millimetre active area—about ten times smaller by area than conventional LCoS. It operates at 300 frames per second, uses colour sequential red, green and blue illumination with LEDs, and is described as by far the smallest full-colour display the speaker has seen.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Arseniy Kuznetsov
* Companies: Agency for Science, Technology and Research
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#LCoSPrototype, #ColorSequentialAddressing, #LEDIllumination, #SpeckleFreeLasers, #MicroDisplay, #SpatialLightModulators