It's the invention of the transistor, take two. IBM researcher Cherie Kagan and her colleagues recently announced the creation of a new class of semiconductive materials that promise to change the face of flat-panel displays. Today, pixels are controlled by a light-switch transistor made of amorphous silicon. Big Blue's new material - a hybrid of inorganic substances and organic compounds such as phenethylammonium hydrogen iodide - matches silicon's performance but can be fabricated inexpensively and at low temperatures. "By combining the conductive properties of inorganic materials and the ease of processing organic materials," explains Kagan, "we get the best of both worlds." And by cracking the silicon ceiling, the project opens the door to plastics and other materials that can't take the heat required to make traditional transistors. For researchers working on flexible screens, say, for digital newspapers, this is front-page news.
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