Inexpensive, stable and environmentally friendly, so-called "transparent transistors" are an "entirely new class of materials," said Oregon State University (OSU) electrical and computer engineering professor John Wager.

Tossable Transistors

In recent years, researchers have focused much effort and expenditure on carbon-based electronics.

But this new class of so-called "thin-film" materials -- termed "amorphous heavy-metal cation multicomponent oxides" -- may have other advantages.

"Compared to organic or polymer transistor materials, these new inorganic oxides have higher mobility, better chemical stability, ease of manufacture, and are physically more robust," said Wager. "Oxide-based transistors, in many respects, are already further along than organics or polymers are after many years of research, and this may blow some of them right out of the water."

The newest materials are zinc-tin-oxide thin film transistors with "mobility" -- how fast electrons move within a material -- an order of magnitude faster than earlier transparent transistors, Wager told NewsFactor.

Transparent transistors would also be so cheap you could toss them away, Wager explained.

Chilling Out

High temperatures are typically critical to integrated circuit manufacturing.

But transparent transistors like their temperatures lukewarm.

"What has been most surprising is that we can make high quality oxide transistors with these new materials at just above room temperature," Wager said. "Simply put, that's shocking. Most integrated circuits made today, by comparison, are produced at temperatures between 700-1,100 degrees centigrade."

Transparent transistor materials won't challenge silicon for many years, but see-through electronic products -- many of which do not yet exist -- could lead to billion-dollar industries.

Think windshields that transmit visual information; glass that doubles as an electronic device; vastly superior liquid crystal displays; new copy machines; and better solar cells.

"One other thing that comes to mind is games and toys," Wager said. "It's not unusual for the creators of innovative game products to be the first people to implement a new technology."

Hard To Scratch or Lots of Scratch?

Always on the lookout for innovative products that could generate higher sales, Hewlett-Packard (HP ) researchers have teamed up with OSU to develop new products.

"HP is excited about the possibilities that this development may enable, especially for our customers in imaging and printing," said Tim Weber, director of the Advanced Materials and Processes Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon. "We are pleased with the rapid progress the OSU and HP team has made in this area."

Hard to scratch, chemically stable, low cost and readily available, transparent transistors "are just a better type of transistor," said Wager, who published his team's findings in a recent issue of the journal. Applied Physics Letters.