{mosimage}The high definition screens dominating world television sales could become obsolete following a major breakthrough in 3-D liquid crystal technology that has already stoked the interest of a world leading flat screen TV manufacturer.

A researcher at Cambridge University is looking to replicate the Princess Leia hologram from Star Wars and adapt the technology for a widely available 3D television that could be ready within three years.

Last year, sales of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) television sets overtook that of the bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) for the first time, marking a major milestone in the technology’s progression.

However, with the growing demand for high definition “realism,” a true 3D technology could create a new world order within the TV industry.

The system, pioneered by senior lecturer Dr Tim Wilkinson at the University’s Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE), has previously received industrial backing, but is now making such progress that it could soon strike a deal with a leading Asian electronics firm.

“3D TV and film is what we’re aiming at,” said Dr Wilkinson – “a 3D display like the Princess Leia hologram from Star Wars. If we keep going as we are, then in three to five years it could well be possible.”

Dr Wilkinson says the technology is already there for the hologram, but how to display the hologram is the key. The idea is to combine two well established technologies – liquid crystals and nano-technology – and make a new hybrid device.

His laboratory has already produced one of the region’s most promising new technology firms, Light Blue Optics, a company focused on developing miniature projection systems, the 2D version of the technology according to Dr Wilkinson.

The 3D system is possible following a breakthrough by Dr Wilkinson that has allowed him to combine liquid crystals with vertically grown carbon nanotubes, creating a reconfigurable three-dimensional liquid crystal device structure.

In a regular display device the liquid crystal pixel is used to change the polarisation of the light passing through it and the degree of change – seen as contrast – is done through an applied voltage onto electrodes at the top and bottom of the cell.

By adding a 3 dimensional element to the lower electrode, Dr Wilkinson has changed the way in which the voltage interacts with the liquid crystal molecules to make a 3 dimensional optical structure.

This offers completely new ways to control molecules in liquid crystals, allowing them to move in a variety of directions, which lays the groundwork for a range of applications including 3D television, digital video cameras, optical diffusers, emerging head-up display devices and the wavefront sensors used in optometry.

Dr Wilkinson has been working on this “sub-project” for the last two to three years, but has been investigating the field of free-space optics, devices and systems for over 15 years.