Smartphone screen with resolution million times higher than iPhone: Chinese researchers make technology breakthrough

A breakthrough in rare earth display technology could increase the resolution of smartphone screens by a factor of over a million; but consumers will need to open their eyes widely, and their wallets, to see the difference.

By putting six different types of rare earth elements in a nanoscale capsule and beaming lasers onto it, Chinese researchers obtained for the first time the full spectrum of visible light, according to a paper published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Apple's top of the range retina displays – used in iPhones, iPads and Macbooks – currently boast around 300 pixels per square inch (PPI). By comparison, the rare earth display could reach 850 million PPI.

The study opens up a new direction for the future development of display technology utilising rare earth materials, according to Zhang Zhongping, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Hefei Institute of Physical Science and lead author of the study.

But it could take a long time before the displays are seen by consumers, he said.

"Pixels are only one part of display technology. When pixels go down in size, it requires laser beams to become extremely fine as well," Zhang said.

"To generate and control laser beams at a nanoscale [level] is a problem that has not been solved."