Three dimensional holographic images and floating displays outside a screen have long been a favourite of science fiction movies such as the rescue message carried by R2-D2 in Star Wars.
The success of James Cameron's 3D movie Avatar caused a tremendous worldwide interest in flexible, high-definition and floating display devices.
In fact, the dream of optically displaying a 3D object has been constantly driving the revolution in display technologies over the past decade.
At the moment most 3D imagery is only seen with the aid of special glasses. But the revenue generated by this 3D technology market in 2013 exceeded US$93.21 billion (almost double the global solar market), and is expected to grow up to US$279.27 billion by 2018.
The research efforts in nanotechnology have significantly advanced development of display devices. Graphene, an atomic layer of carbon material that won scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, has emerged as a key component for flexible and wearable displaying devices.
Owing to its fascinating electronic and optical properties, and high mechanical strength, graphene has been mainly used as touch screens in wearable devices such as mobiles.
This technical advance has enabled devices such as smart watches, fitness bands and smart headsets to transition from science fiction into reality, even though the display is still 2D flat.
But wearable displaying devices, in particular devices with a floating display, will remain one of the most significant trends in the industry, which is projected to double every two years and exceed US$12 billion in the year of 2018.
In a paper, published today in Nature Communications, we show how our technology realises wide viewing-angle and full-colour floating 3D display in graphene-based materials. Ultimately this will help to transform wearable displaying devices into floating 3D displays.
To read more, click here.