A dispersion-driven 3D color near-eye meta-display
Abstract
Chromatic dispersion, an inherent wavelength-dependent phenomenon in optical systems, has traditionally been regarded as a detrimental effect to be minimized in imaging and display. Here, we present a paradigm shift by deliberately engineering and harnessing metalens dispersion as a functional mechanism for three-dimensional (3D) near-eye displays. Specifically, we exploit lateral dispersion to transform transverse offset between green and red objects into image-space angular separations that make their images intersected virtually, thereby creating color-merged 3D virtual-image perception. This meta-display architecture preserves compactness of conventional planar display while exhibiting less data requirements and lower hardware complexity than other near-eye 3D displays. Experimentally, we demonstrate a multi-color near-eye 3D system achieving an 11{\deg} field of view, 22 pixels-per-degree angular resolution, 0.9 m depth of field, and 19 distinct image planes. This work establishes a new pathway for metasurfaces toward visual displays and highlights great potential for future virtual/augmented reality.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2512.16127,
title = {A dispersion-driven 3D color near-eye meta-display},
author = {Zi Wang and Dong Zhao and Li Liang and Hengyi Wang and Yuan Liu and Fang-Wen Sun and Kun Huang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.16127},
year = {2025}
}