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How does it work? The magic happens on the surface of a special crystal called lithium niobate (LiNbO3), which boasts excellent optical properties. Beneath the surface of the LiNbO3, microscopic channels, or "waveguides," are created to confine light passing through. A metal electrode is then deposited onto each waveguide, which can produce surface acoustic waves.

Instead of a color wheel, any color combination is possible with their approach simply by altering the frequency of the signal sent to the "white waveguide pixel." In other words, Smalley said, "we can color the output of our display by 'coloring' the frequencies of the drive signal." "As a bonus, this interaction also rotates the polarization of the signal light so that we can use a polarizer to eliminate any noise in the system," he added.

This can drop the cost of a holographic video display from tens of thousands of dollars to less than a thousand