World's thinnest hologram paves path to new 3-D world

An Australian-Chinese research team has created the world’s thinnest hologram, paving the way towards the integration of 3D holography into everyday electronics like smart phones, computers and TVs.

Interactive 3D holograms are a staple of science fiction – from Star Wars to Avatar­­ – but the challenge for scientists trying to turn them into reality is developing holograms that are thin enough to work with modern electronics. Now a pioneering team led by RMIT University’s Distinguished Professor Min Gu has designed a nano-hologram that is simple to make, can be seen without 3D goggles and is 1000 times thinner than a human hair.

The RMIT research team, working with the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), has broken the thickness limit with a 25 nanometre hologram based on a topological insulator material – a novel quantum material that holds the low refractive index in the surface layer but the ultrahigh refractive index in the bulk.

Read more at RMIT University

Image Credit: RMIT University/Youtube

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