Image display device using a diffractive lens wherein the diffractive lens comprises a first electrode array and a second electrode array and operates as a fresnel zone plate

1. An image display device, comprising:

a display panel to display an image; and

a diffractive lens disposed on the display panel to modify a light path of the image to be recognized as a two-dimensional (2D) image or a three-dimensional (3D) image,

wherein the diffractive lens modifies the light path by operating as a Fresnel zone plate,

wherein the diffractive lens comprises:

a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other;

a first electrode layer disposed on the first substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate,

wherein the first electrode layer comprises:

a first electrode array comprising a plurality of first electrodes,

an insulating layer disposed on the first electrode array, and

a second electrode array comprising a plurality of second electrodes, the second electrode array being disposed on the insulating layer and closer to the liquid crystal layer than the first electrode array,

wherein the first substrate, the second substrate, and the liquid crystal layer comprise a plurality of zones sequentially positioned toward an outside with reference to a center of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens, and

wherein each zone comprises at least one of the first electrodes and at least one of the second electrodes.

2. The image display device of claim 1 , wherein the diffractive lens further comprises a second electrode layer disposed on the second substrate, the second electrode layer comprising a common electrode.

3. The image display device of claim 2 , wherein the first electrodes and the second electrodes are alternately disposed.

4. The image display device of claim 3 , wherein voltages applied to the at least one first electrode and the at least one second electrode are varied gradually toward the center of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens in each zone.

5. The image display device of claim 4 , wherein:

each zone comprises a plurality of sub-zones, and

a voltage of the first electrode or the second electrode included in a same sub-zone in each of the is applied to generate a same phase delay of light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer.

6. The image display device of claim 5 , wherein at least one of a width of the first electrode and a width of the second electrode is decreased closer to an outer zone of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens.

7. The image display device of claim 5 , wherein at least one of a width of the first electrode and a width of the second electrode is uniform in all zones of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens.

8. The image display device of claim 2 , wherein:

the first substrate, the second substrate, and the liquid crystal layer comprise a plurality of zones sequentially positioned toward an outside with reference to a center of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens,

each zone comprises at least one of the first electrodes and at least one of the second electrodes, and

voltages applied to the at least one first electrode and the at least one second electrode are varied gradually toward the center of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens in each zone.

9. The image display device of claim 8 , wherein:

each zone comprises a plurality of sub-zones, and

a voltage of the first electrode or the second electrode included in a same sub-zone in each of the zones is applied to generate a same phase delay of light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer.

10. The image display device of claim 2 , wherein:

the first substrate, the second substrate, and the liquid crystal layer comprise a plurality of zones sequentially positioned toward an outside with reference to a center of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens, and

at least one of a width of the first electrode and a width of the second electrode is decreased closer to an outer zone of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens.

11. The image display device of claim 2 , wherein:

the first substrate, the second substrate, and the liquid crystal layer comprise a plurality of zones sequentially positioned toward an outside with reference to a center of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens, and

at least one of a width of the first electrode and a width of the second electrode is uniform in all zones of the Fresnel zone plate diffractive lens.

12. The image display device of claim 2 , wherein the first electrode, the second electrode, and the common electrode are applied with a same voltage such that the diffractive lens is turned off and the 2D image is recognized.

13. The image display device of claim 1 , wherein

the diffractive lens comprises an anisotropic diffractive lens, and

the image display device further comprises a polarization switching unit positioned between the display panel and the anisotropic diffractive lens to control polarization of the image of the display panel, thereby switching the anisotropic diffractive lens on and off.

14. The image display device of claim 13 , wherein

the anisotropic diffractive lens comprises an isotropic diffractive film and an anisotropic material layer disposed on the isotropic diffractive film, and

the anisotropic diffractive lens has a same phase delay as a phase delay according to positions in a phase modulation zone plate among the types of Fresnel zone plates.

15. The image display device of claim 14 , wherein

the anisotropic material layer comprises a liquid crystal polymer material.

16. The image display device of claim 13 , wherein

the anisotropic diffractive lens comprises:

a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other;

an isotropic diffractive layer formed on the first substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate,

wherein the anisotropic diffractive lens has a same phase delay as a phase delay according to positions in a phase modulation zone plate among the types of Fresnel zone plates.

17. The image display device of claim 16 , further comprising

an alignment layer to align liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer.

18. The image display device of claim 1 , wherein

the diffractive lens modifies the light path by using an optical principle of a Fresnel zone plate of a phase modulation type.

19. The image display device of claim 18 , wherein

the diffractive lens modifies the light path by using an optical principle of a Fresnel zone plate of a multi-level phase modulation type.