A group of scientists has successfully created graphene displays that are flexible and semi-transparent. The creation paves the way for electronic devices to be built with the world's strongest material.
Graphene is a very thin and nearly transparent sheet of pure carbon. It is lightweight, but 100 times stronger than steel. Scientists have been studying the material and its application, such as using it for the development of air-powered electric generators, screen displays of smartphones and other electronic devices, improvement of electric cars range and power, and more.
While it graphene might not be used in high-power machines anytime soon, it might not be that far into the future when it can be integrated with electronic devices after scientists at the University of Sheffield and University of Manchester announced that they have successfully made a graphene display.
The team led by Nobel Laureate Sir Kostya Novoselov combined graphene and 2-D designer materials to create LEDs for next-generation smartphones, tablets and televisions. The finished material was extremely thin, flexible, durable and semi-transparent.
"As our new type of LEDs only consist of a few atomic layers of 2-D materials they are flexible and transparent. We envisage a new generation of optoelectronic devices to stem from this work, from simple transparent lighting and lasers and to more complex applications," Freddie Withers, Royal Academy of Engineering research fellow at The University of Manchester, who led the production of the devices, said in a university news release.
The researchers were able to produce a display that is 10-40 atoms thick. They plan to expand it by adding more 2-D materials, such as the boron nitride and molybdenum disulphide, and to improve its electronic quality.
The study was published in the Feb. 2 issue of Nature Materials.
