Multicolor nanoring arrays with uniform and decoupled scattering for augmented reality displays

For vivid, immersive overlay of virtual images onto background scenes in augmented reality (AR) applications, it is crucial for the display element to achieve controllability of spectral selectivity and transmittance level. At the current stage, the transmittance of self-emissive transparent displays is limited to at most ∼60 %, constrained by the fill factor of emissive regions, restricting their scalability for immersive experiences. Although projection-based transparent screens using frequency-selective scatterers offer a promising alternative, the platforms suffer from spectral broadening and instability originating from color-dependent scattering and inter-scatterer coupling. Here, we present a transparent screen architecture based on multicolor nanoring arrays. By tuning the nanoring’s resonance via inner-aperture size engineering, the architecture enables dense, symmetric RGB arrays with isolated and homogenized scattering responses. For inter-scatterer distances of 100–200+ nm, full-wave simulations confirm the robustness of well-isolated RGB reflections (FWHM < 25 nm), along with exceptional tunability of transmittance (50 % to above 80 %). As a platform for AR displays, we demonstrate the widest reported transparency-control range without any penalty to color balance or spectral selectivity. We also analyze the gamut area of projected images across transmittance levels, achieving a net gamut expansion (+11.0 % p at Λ = 120 nm; +5.5 % p at Λ = 190 nm) from the spectral narrowing of projection sources, and further propose a practical design map linking the maximum allowable transmittance to the ambient-to-source noise ratio. Our nanoring-based architecture provides a robust and scalable platform for next-generation transparent displays under real-world lighting conditions.