Displays - Page 9

Researchers at the University of Guangzhou, China, managed to improve the capacitance of supercapacitors by nearly 1000-fold compared with that of the laminated or wrinkled CVD graphene-film-based supercapacitors. To achieve this, the researchers integrated transparency into freestanding, flexible graphene paper (FFT-GP). These supercapacitors's capacitance is also about ten times better than previously reported values for transparent and flexible supercapacitors based on pure carbon materials. However, some carbon-based nontransparent supercapacitors still perform better than the FFT-GP-based transparent supercapacitor. 

The improved performance is mainly based on the prism-like graphene building blocks that the FFT-GP is made of. The hollow structures of the graphene that give the material its transparency also provide additional space for chemical reactions to occur compared to other materials. Also, the aligned and interconnected prism-like structures provide a wide open path for ions and electrons to travel along and the good charge transport leads to an overall better performance.

UK-based Thomas Swan is a privately held global chemical manufacturing company that currently has a 1kg per day pilot line as well as a vision of being the most trusted supplier of high quality graphene on the market. 

The company's plans for 2015 include expanding its graphene production capacity to 10 tonnes per year (supported by Horizon 2020 funding) and establishing collaborations to develop applications in printed electronics, touch panels and energy storage devices (supported by Innovate UK funding).

Researchers at Australia's Swinburn University of Technology designed a graphene-based technique to create a 3D pop-up floating display. The scientists created nanoscale pixels of refractive index (the measure of the bending of light as it passes through a medium) made of reduced graphene oxide in a process that does not involve heat, which they say is important for the subsequent recording of the individual pixels for holograms and naked-eye 3D viewing.

The team explains that by changing the refractive index, it is possible to create many optical effects. This new technique can be leveraged to achieve compact and versatile optical components for controlling light and can create the wide-angle display necessary for mobile phones and tablets. The scientists believe that this new generation digital holographic 3D display technology could also have applications for military devices, entertainment, remote education, and medical diagnosis as well as lay foundation for future flexible and wearable display devices and transform them for 3D display.

UK-based FlexEnable has recently joined the Graphene Flagship and announced its plans for this year, which will mainly focus on developing new use cases for graphene in flexible electronics including highly conductive interconnect lines and barrier films.

Starting April 2016, the Graphene Flagship is scheduled to move into its core project phase, where FlexEnable’s expertise in industrializing flexible electronics will be utilized to harness the potential of graphene and other 2d materials. FlexEnable’s Cambridge fab will play an important role in showcasing graphene’s performance over surfaces of all sizes, including large areas as well as in the development of advanced product concepts.

Scientists from the Novosibirsk Nikolayev Inorganic Chemistry Institute and the Krasnoyarsk Biophysics Institute have invented a new composite material made of graphene and nano-diamonds. By placing nano-diamonds on the surface of vertically aligned tubes of graphene (probably carbon nanotubes), the scientists created a unique composite material that glows under the impact of a weak electric field.

The researchers say this is the prototype of a tiny light fixture, a nano-tube with a glowing nano-diamond on top. Such structures can be used in a variety of fields, from new types of displays to health diagnostics techniques.

Ohio-based Angstron Materials has developed a group of cost-effective thermal foil products that can be customized for handheld devices and other products. The company says that its foil sheets have been qualified for use by a major mobile electronics company. Such thermal foils can be used for the technology beneath devices' screens that conducts heat away from internal electronic components and batteries to help maintain optimal performance.

Angstron’s thermal foils are available in a variety of grades. The company states that its foils are thinner than other products on the market and so give manufacturers greater design flexibility than competing methods. Angstron’s foil sheets also can be sourced with equivalent or greater thermal conductivity.

Earlier this month, the first mass produced graphene-enhanced phone was rumoured to be near commercial sale by Chinese companies. Now, further details are available as it seems that the device is available on the company's website.

The phone, called the Galapad Settler, is said to use graphene for its touchscreen, as well as casing and battery. 30,000 pieces were made by Chinese graphene company Moxi together with Chinese device maker Galapad, with each device selling for $399 USD.

Scientists from ICFO, MIT, CNRS, CNISM and Graphenea collaborated to demonstrate how graphene can enable the electrical control of light at the nanometer level. Electrically controlled modulation of light emission is crucial in applications like sensors, displays and various optical communication system. It also opens the door to nanophotonics and plasmonics-based devices. 

The researchers managed to show that the energy flow from erbium into photons or plasmons can be controlled by applying a small electrical voltage. The plasmons in graphene are unique, as they are very strongly confined, with a plasmon wavelength that is much smaller than the wavelength of the emitted photons. As the Fermi energy of the graphene sheet was gradually increased, the erbium emitters went from exciting electrons in the graphene sheet, to emitting photons or plasmons. The experiments showed the graphene plasmons at near-infrared frequencies, which may be beneficial for communications applications. In addition, the strong concentration of optical energy offers new possibilities for data storage and manipulation through active plasmonic networks.

University of Exeter scientists discovered that GraphExeter, an adaptation of graphene, is durable to prolonged exposure to high temperatures and humidity. This makes the material not only a transparent, flexible and lightweight conductor, but a resilient one at that. The scientists predict major importance of this discovery for various electronic applications (and a possible ITO replacement).

GraphExeter is a University of Exeter discovery, and is made of sandwiched molecules of ferric chloride between two graphene layers. It turns out that this creates a unique conductor with many useful traits, which is also now proving to be durable: the researchers found that it can withstand relative humidy of up to 100% at room temperature for 25 days, as well as temperatures of up to 150C or as high as 620C in vacuum.