Dec 5 2002
Portable, poster-like television screens and monitors made from a single polymeric sheet are a step closer thanks to research performed by Xerox Research Centre in Canada.
In a presentation given at the recent Materials Research Conference, Beng Ong described the design and synthesis of a revolutionary semiconducting organic polymer that may be able to be used for printing electronic patterns on plastic substrates. This is analogous to etching circuits on silicon wafers.
The technology described by Ong has outstanding electrical properties and has the advantage over other similar technologies that the materials are stable in air. This has not previously been achieved and lends itself to the possibility of economical manufacture.
The manufacture of devices using this type of technology could be performed at a much lower cost compared to current silicon wafer systems without the need for all the expensive equipment like clean rooms, vacuum systems and photolithographic processes, adding to their attractiveness.
Potential applications for the technology range from merchandise identification tags to electric paper displays.
For more information on displays, click here.