While the Apple Vision Pro VR headset has a much-hyped resolution of 3,386 PPI (pixels per inch), a new technology more than doubles that figure. It was created by Los Angeles-based startup Q-Pixel, and it could revolutionize the world of video displays.
As most readers will doubtless already know, the images on existing OLED and MicroLED screens are made up of individual picture elements called pixels.
Each pixel in turn consists of three side-by-side microscopic LEDs known as subpixels. One of these is red, one is green, and one is blue. By varying the intensity of each subpixel relative to the others, it’s possible to make the complete pixel take on any color in the rainbow when viewed by the human eye.
One limitation of the technology lies in the fact that because each pixel must be large enough to accommodate three subpixels, the screen resolution isn’t as sharp as it would be otherwise. While this drawback may not matter that much with TVs or laptops, it becomes an issue with VR headsets, in which viewers’ eyes are quite close to the display.
Additionally, manufacturing and arranging all of the subpixels – within the millions of pixels that make up one display – is a very fiddly, labor-intensive process. For this reason, products with ultra-high-definition displays tend to be quite expensive.
That’s where the Q-Pixel tech comes in.
Putting it simply, the system replaces the three subpixel LEDs with a single polychromatic LED. At the heart of that microscopic LED is a gallium nitride semiconductor which emits either red, green or blue light depending on the applied voltage.
In a recent demonstration of the technology at the Society for Information Display’s annual symposium, Q-Pixel unveiled what it claims is the world’s highest-resolution active-matrix color display. Measuring about 1.1 by 0.55 cm (0.4 by 0.2 in), the screen boasts a resolution of 6,800 PPI – that works out to about 3K by 1.5K pixels.
According to the company, the assembly process for its displays is much simpler and easier than what is currently required for ultra-high-def OLED and MicroLED displays. Additionally, like other MicroLEDs, Q-Pixel’s are claimed to offer a faster response time, higher brightness, longer lifetime, and superior energy efficiency as compared to the LEDs used in conventional displays.
And as an interesting side note, scientists at MIT have taken a different approach to the whole MicroLED resolution thing, by stacking the three subpixels on top of one another.
Source: Q-Pixel
