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Monday, March 27, 2006

"CHIPS: Materials change yields fast transparent circuits"

A process used to create the world's first inexpensive transparent circuitry based on inorganic materials could enable a new era of electronics. The circuit--a five-inverter ring oscillator cast in amorphous indium gallium oxide--was recently demonstrated here at Oregon State University. The transparent circuits could be "embossed" on virtually any surface, from "smart glass"--displays with integrated computers in a "windshield"--to ultraefficient solar-cell "coatings" painted onto an electric car. Since the process is inorganic, it promises superior performance compared with organic transparent circuits. The inorganic circuits show higher electron mobility, higher chemical stability and higher physical durability, but use only low-temperature fabrication that rivals those of conductive polymers. Today, most research into transparent electronics centers on organic conductive polymers, which are very inexpensive to manufacture and which, unlike silicon circuitry, only require low temperatures for fabrication.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=183701149