The Fourier pixels in action
(Image credit: Glauser YM, Vonk SJW, et al., Nature 2026)
A new type of pixel is capable of both controlling and analyzing lightIt's based on the Fourier mathematical toolWe'll have to wait some time to get this in our gadget screensScreens that double up as cameras could be packed into future gadgets, as researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland have developed a new type of pixel that can analyze and create images simultaneously.These bidirectional pixels are able to both control and read the intensity, oscillation, phase, and polarization of light, and they're based on the fundamental physics of interfering light waves. The pixels are carefully sculpted at the nanometer level to direct light as it hits the surface and gets scattered.At the same time as the light is traveling across the pixel and being scattered back out to the viewer, creating the required images and patterns, an analysis of the incoming light can be carried out as well — all on the same pixel.The approach "establishes a scalable, universal architecture for vectorially programmable pixels with applications in adaptive optics, holographic displays, optical communication, and quantum information processing," write the researchers in their paper on the new pixel, which is published in Nature.Scaling up
