News
New Plastic Semiconductors Break Speed Record
Researchers have developed an ultra-thin plastic that allows an electrical
charge to pass through it at speeds never before seen, a discovery that could
dramatically drive down the cost of flat-panel monitors and other devices.
The plastic, which resembles cellophane when applied to electronic components,
could one day replace the chemicals used to manufacture monitors and so-called
radio frequency identification chips, which are used to keep track of store
inventories, fleets of trucks and herds of cattle.
Researchers have long searched for alternatives to the silicon-based material
used in today's devices. The plastic material, known as liquid-crystalline polymers,
have been viewed as a key contender, but until now electrical charges haven't
been able to travel through it at speeds required by electronic devices.
But a team of scientists led by Ian McCulloch of Merck Chemicals in the United
Kingdom, has found a way to boost electrical performance in polymers six-fold,
putting the substance on par with so-called amorphous silicon.
The discovery, published online this week by the journal Nature Materials,
could lead to new methods for making monitors and other types of electronic
devices.
Instead of using a costly vacuum process to coat silicon on large panes of
glass, manufacturers could spray a liquid polymer on tiny plastic parts, in
much the way the nozzle of an inkjet printer sprays ink on paper.
"It's a radically different manufacturing process," said Michael
McGehee, one of the study's authors and a professor in Stanford University's
Materials Science and Engineering Department.