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New Displays Nanotechnology will bring about a new era of displays in a number of ways. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (or OLEDs ) are cheaper and easier to manufacture than LEDs. These consist of thin layers of electrically conducting organic molecules which are approximately 100 nanometres (nm) thick. The convenience of these is that they can be applied to different materials usin g a process similar to ink-jet printing (as is the case for organic dy e-based solar cells). The downside is that OLEDs have a much shorter life-span and are also much less efficient than LEDs. The main applications of OLEDs are in small video screens (such as mobile phones).
Carbon nanotubes (pictured above) are now being prepared for use in displays. Companies such as Rosseter in Cyprus are already producing them for commercial use because of their amazing chemical, physical and mechanical properties. Carbon nanotubes are up to 100 times stronger than steel, yet only 1/6 of the weight. They can even be flexible as the image below shows. In addition, they conduct electricity better than copper. Finally, this method may be looking quite far into the future, but MIT researchers have created a quantum dot OLED (QD-OLED). Quantum dots generate their own light - unlike traditional LCDs which are lit from behind - and the dots can be manipulated to emit absolutely any colour imaginable, with no range limit as seen with traditional devices. |
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Glossary LCD The orientational properties of liquid crystals (LC) can be used to create a display. The relative orientation of the molecules in one pixel of the LC-layer can be adjusted by applying a voltage. When this layer is placed between two polarisers the intensity of light passing through it can be adjusted by rotating the molecules in the LC-layer. Thus the brightness of each pixel of the display can be selectively controlled. |
Glossary Quantum Dot This is a nanoscale object (a diameter of a few tens of nanometres) constructed from metallic or semiconductor material. Quantum dots have unique electrical properties, which can be used for example to store electrons or to transform the colour of light (depending on its size, a quantum dot of the same material will emit (fluoresce) different coloured light). Quantum dots have applications in medical diagnostics, optoelectronics (where light is used to process information) and in energy conversion such as solar cells. They are made from a variety of different compounds, such as cadmium selenide. |