There are limits to the refresh rate increases that can be achieved with LCD screens utilizing conventional liquid crystals. The crystals in these units behave in the screen like horizontally applied, electronically controlled tumbler switches that allow the backlight to pass through either more or less intensely. This causes light and dark pixels to be visible on the display. The crystals need a certain amount of time for each switching operation, however — and if it’s too long, the new image will be overlapped by the old one for a fraction of a second. Experts refer to this effect as “ghosting,” i.e., a “ghost image effect.”

Merck is now ushering in the next generation of TV screen production technology with its PS-VA system. PS-VA, which stands for polymer-stabilized vertical alignment, prealigns all the crystals in a predefined direction, thereby enabling them to switch faster from the vertical to the horizontal. Experts are also anticipating further speed gains from the use of Blue Phase technology, which utilizes a specific phase of certain liquid crystals that normally occurs within a very narrow temperature range of one to two degrees Kelvin below the isotropic phase. Using targeted stabilization, Merck researchers have succeeded in extending this range to as much as 70 degrees Kelvin, however, thus making it suitable for use in practical display applications.

Both technologies could help to create a situation in which future 3D TV viewers might not even need to wear special glasses to watch 3D shows. That would bring the soccer stadium even closer to the pub — or into one’s own living room.