Aluminium displays may replace LEDs in the future

The new age organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays have replaced the cathode-ray tube, which relied on inorganic chemicals, almost completely now. While the new technology provides sharper images, they are less stable and have a shorter life. A sustainable, inorganic display system would thus be beneficial and soon, aluminium could be an answer to that.

There is a phenomenon called surface plasmonics where some metals create colors through resonance of the surface electrons. If the four primary colors can be achieved through this method then it can give rise to a new era of inorganic displays. Noble metals like gold and silver can be used for the purpose but both have their own drawbacks, not to mention they are expensive. However, Jana Olson of Houston’s Rice University has recently published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to describe how that job can be done with aluminium.

Dr. Olson has devised a technology where by varying the length of tiny aluminium rods wide spectrum of colors can be produced. The longer rod shifts the light towards the red end of the spectrum allowing the system to be manipulated. These rods will be arranged in a pixel to deal with the problem of spectral spread. This will bring together the individual outputs form intense vivid colors through a process known as far-field diffractive coupling.

Dr. Olsen claims that if this technology can be mastered, it will send the current, more expensive displays right into the waste-bin, just like the cathode ray system.