Scientists in Sweden have created a screen technology with pixels so small that they reach the highest resolution the human eye can possibly see.
The work, done by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Gothenburg, and Uppsala University, marks a major step forward in display technology and could change how we see and interact with digital images and virtual worlds.
The team developed a new kind of electronic paper called “retina E-paper.” Each pixel is about 560 nanometers in size—much smaller than the pixels used in today’s micro-LED screens.
The entire screen is roughly the size of a human pupil but can display an incredible 25,000 pixels per inch (ppi). This level of detail matches how closely the human eye can detect light, meaning that anything sharper would be invisible to us.
“This technology can open up new ways to experience digital information and art,” said Kunli Xiong, an assistant professor at Uppsala University who led the project.
“It could make remote collaboration, creative work, and even scientific visualization feel more natural and lifelike.”
Pixels are the building blocks of digital screens, and the smaller and denser they are, the more realistic the image appears.
But shrinking them has always been difficult. On modern micro-LED screens, pixels stop working properly if they are smaller than one micrometer.
The Swedish researchers solved this problem by using nanoparticles of tungsten oxide to create light-scattering surfaces that reflect color instead of emitting light. This makes the screen more like paper or the feathers of colorful birds, which reflect light in beautiful ways.
By changing the size and arrangement of these nanoparticles, the researchers could make red, green, and blue pixels.
These combine to create all visible colors. The display is also energy-efficient, since it does not need its own light source. A small electric voltage can switch the particles off, turning the pixel black.
This means the retina E-paper could one day be used for ultra-high-quality, low-power devices such as e-readers, smart glasses, or mixed-reality headsets.
To show what their invention could do, the team recreated Gustav Klimt’s famous painting The Kiss on a space measuring only 1.4 by 1.9 millimeters—about 1/4000th the size of a smartphone screen.
Despite its tiny scale, the image was still clearly visible under normal lighting, demonstrating how powerful the technology could be.
“This is a big leap toward screens that are smaller, sharper, and use less energy,” said Giovanni Volpe, a physics professor at the University of Gothenburg. “While the system still needs more refinement, it shows enormous promise for future applications in science, art, and everyday technology.”
Source: KSR.
