Methods and apparatus for transparent display using up-converting nanoparticles

摘要

Disclosed herein are transparent color displays with nanoparticles made with nonlinear materials and/or designed to exhibit optical resonances. These nanoparticles are embedded in or hosted on a transparent substrate, such as a flexible piece of clear plastic or acrylic. Illuminating the nanoparticles with invisible light (e.g., infrared or ultraviolet light) causes them to emit visible light. For example, a rare-earth doped nanoparticle may emit visible light when illuminated simultaneoulsy with a first infrared beam at a first wavelength λ1 and a second infrared beam at a second wavelength λ2. And a frequency-doubling nanoparticle may emit visible light when illuminated with a single infrared beam at the nanoparticle's resonant frequency. Selectively addressing these nanoparticles with appropiately selected pump beams yields visible light emitted from the nanoparticles hosted by the transparent substrate in a desired pattern.

主权项

1. A display comprising:
a transparent substrate; at least one nanoparticle disposed on the transparent substrate, the at least one nanoparticle comprising a resonant structure configured to resonate at a visible wavelength λv=(λ1λ2)/(λ1+λ2) in response to illumination at a first wavelength λ1 and a second wavelength λ2; a first light source, in optical communication with the at least one nanoparticle, to illuminate the at least one nanoparticle with a first infrared beam at the first wavelength λ1; and a second light source, in optical communication with the at least one nanoparticle, to illuminate the at least one nanoparticle with a second infrared beam at the second wavelength λ2 while the first light source illuminates the at least one nanoparticle with the first infrared beam so as to cause the at least one nanoparticle to emit visible light, wherein the visible light emitted by the at least one nanoparticle is at the visible wavelength λv=(λ1λ2)/(λ1+λ2).