Samsung Pushes Switchable 2D/3D Display for Smartphones, Tablets

Samsung’s display technology is moving toward flexible viewing experiences. The company has built a switchable 2D/3D display system that uses a metasurface lenticular lens. This could allow smartphones and tablets to shift between 2D visuals and glasses-free 3D content.

Samsung’s next-gen display tech could offer flexible viewing

In a research paper published in the journal Nature, Samsung and POSTECH introduced a Switchable 2D/3D display system. It uses an ultra-thin metalens (made of nanoscale structures) that can switch between flat 2D images and 3D images. The goal is to overcome the limits of 3D displays, such as bulky optics, narrow viewing angles, and reduced image quality.

To achieve this, the researchers used polarization, which is the direction in which light oscillates. This allows them to design a metasurface lenticular lens that dynamically tweaks focal properties. In 2D mode, the metalens acts like a concave lens. This lets light pass through straight, creating a clear image for normal viewing.

Meanwhile, in 3D mode, the metalens behaves like a convex lens. It works with the existing lens to improve depth and widen the viewing angle. As a result, the same display can provide either sharp 2D or 3D visuals within a single system.

Samsung also highlights the improvement in both thickness and viewing angle. Traditionally, engineers used large, thick lenses to achieve high image quality and wide viewing angles. However, the metasurface lenticular lens uses a high numerical aperture design.

The new method helps achieve an ultra-thin profile of 1.2 mm. It also provides a wider viewing angle of up to 100 degrees. This is more than six times wider than the conventional 15-degree viewing angle. As such, more people can experience 3D content from different positions.

Furthermore, the research shows that metalens technology can play a key role in real-world devices. The team created a large-area metalens measuring 50 x 50 mm (25 cm²). It was then tested on OLED panels. Samsung believes switchable 2D/3D display systems could power smartphones, tablets, and other commercial systems.