Toshiba has developed a new technology for 3D displays that do not require users to wear special 3D glassesand is based on a new low-crosstalk high-definition liquid crystal GRIN lens system. The technology can be used for the creaion of a highly portable, compact display with a ultrahigh-definition 4K resolution that can switch between 3D mode and 2D mode.

Toshiba has already developed and marketed glasses-free 3D televisions and laptop computers for the consumer market. Technologies established in commercialization of these products were also used to develop specialized products for the professional business market, efforts that culminated in the introduction of the first glasses-free 3D medical display on the market.

Achieving the high level 3D performance required in B2B fields has typically relied on specialized plastic lenses for professional 3D displays. However, Toshiba’s specialized 3D display is also required to function as a 2D display for users who need to view 2D images. This is especially important for mobile devices, where there is a high demand for a product that allows users to easily switch between high-quality 3D and ultrahigh- definition 2D without any need for an additional display.

Toshiba claims that its new low-crosstalk high-definition liquid crystal GRIN lens system offers highly bright picture without any degradation in 3D mode and also achieves image quality without any deterioration in 2D mode.

In a GRIN lens, the refractive-index distribution is formed by applying a voltage to the liquid crystal cell. The lens system reduces the abnormal alignment of liquid crystal molecules near the boundaries of liquid crystal lens, reducing crosstalk to 2%, against 5% in conventional 3D displays. Crosstalk indicates the separation performance of parallax images in 3D mode; the lower the crosstalk, the higher the definition of the 3D display.

That has been achieved by optimizing the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules and the angle of the liquid crystal GRIN lens relative to the direction of polarization of the liquid crystal panel. By combining this technology with a 15-inch 4K LCD panel, 3D resolution has been increased more than fivefold compared to thhe resolution of Toshiba's Dynabook Qosmio T851 model, making it possible to view high-quality 3D images on the same display used for ultrahigh-definition 2D images.

Toshiba plans to fuse the new technology with a partial 2D/3D switching function which can be applied to any screen size and position. The new technology can be commercialized in B2B industrial and medical products that require glasses-free high-definition 3D displays.