New technology makes 'invisible' paper possible
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 07/16/2007
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In five years, students may be able to turn in blank homework assignments and not receive F's.
The assignments would be blank, that is, until teachers open the documents saved within the clear "e-paper" and read them like they were reading from a computer monitor.
David Janes, a researcher at Birck Nanotechnology Center and professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, compared e-paper to the computer-screen picture frames that have become somewhat popular in the last year.
"E-paper has the memory space to hold multiple documents," he said. "And it's flexible, lightweight and portable similar to a small book."
The paper, which Janes expects may be available within the next five years, is the result of research done at Birck Nanotechnology Center. A team of professors and students created transparent nanowire transistors and circuits used in the e-paper.
Other researchers had already made nanowire transistors, but the metal electrodes in them made the structures opaque.
The transparent transistors could allow scientists and engineers to put displays in car windshields that provide drivers with information and warnings they previously had to look down to the dashboard to see.
The transistors could also be used in goggle-like displays for surgeons, soldiers and other active occupations, giving them access to information as they work.
"Our study demonstrates that nanowire electronics can be fully transparent, as well as flexible, while maintaining high performance levels," said Tobin Marks, professor of chemistry and engineering at Northwestern University, who worked with Purdue researchers on the project.
"This opens the door to entirely new technologies for high-performance transparent flexible displays."