Flexible, energy-efficient and inexpensive screens: the revolution is underway


Misitia Ravaloson

June 28, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.

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transistor © University of Surrey

Source gate transistor © University of Surrey

The University of Surrey is leading the way in low-cost, energy-efficient flexible displays. What do we know about this revolutionary innovation?

Researchers claim to have found the solution to the problem affecting source gate transistors (SGT). This solution should lead to flexible screens at low cost and low energy consumption.

A revolutionary solution for SGTs

SGTs are not widely used, as current designs have a problem with how their performance changes with temperature. It is precisely this problem that scientists at the University of Surrey seem to have solved by developing a new design for the transistor part called the source. They effectively added very thin layers of insulating material in contact with the source to modify the way electrical charges flow. Specifically, the researchers used an emerging semiconductor material: indium-gallium-zinc oxide, or IGZO.

As explained by Dr. Radu Sporea, Project Manager at the University of Surrey: “
Thanks to nanoscale contact engineering, we have obtained transistors that are much more stable with temperature than previous attempts. »

Flexible screen © © Peter Sobolev / Shutterstock

© Peter Sobolev / Shutterstock

The potential of source-gate transistors

Source gate transistors are a special type of transistor that combines a thin film transistor and a metal-semiconductor contact. These are technologies that can be used in fields like large-area electronics, medicine, engineering and computing, as they offer many more advantages than traditional transistors when it comes to power consumption. energy and stability.

Salman Alfarisyi, responsible for carrying out the simulations within the framework of this research at the University of Surrey, asserts that SGT could be the backbone of new energy-efficient flexible electronics technology that helps meet our energy needs without harming the health of our planet “.

This new design then makes it possible to reduce the shortcomings of the SGTs and adds thermal stability to them while retaining all their main advantages, according to the researchers.

As a reminder, the University of Surrey is a world-class center of excellence, focused on multidisciplinary research that connects society and technology. The goal is to create the tools needed to fight climate change and reduce the impacts of pollution on health, among other things. Recently, it was its researchers who unveiled a unique technology for capturing carbon dioxide and converting it into useful products like hydrogen.

Source : University of Surrey press release



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