We’ve all done, right? That terrible moment when you accidentally drop your smartphone and watch it fall to the floor, shattering the screen. Then you either have to buy a new smartphone, or use tweezers to get glass out of your fingertips after each use of your smartphone.
Well, for those who have broken your phone screen, you might not need to worry anymore. Scientists at the University Of Akron have claimed they created an unbreakable smartphone screen from clear electrodes.
As of now, the screen of your phone; TV; etc; is coated with a conductive substance called indium tin oxide. (ITO for short.) ITO is in limited supply and is expensive to make…And easy to break.
According to a study published by the American Chemical Society’s journal, Yu Zhu; Assistant Professor of Polymer Science explains a novel method on how the group of scientists created the tough screen. Instead of using ITO, they developed a mesh of metal electrodes, then compressed it to a layer of polymer. Thus creating a tough screen that can stand brutal testing. Unlike ITO, this mesh screen is inexpensive to create; and isn’t in a limited supply.
Here’s what Yu Zhu had to say about his invention…
“We expect this film to emerge on the market as a true ITO competitor,” Zhu said in a press release. “The annoying problem of cracked smartphone screens may be solved once and for all with this flexible touchscreen.”
Hopefully, we can start seeing this invention used on smartphones in the near future.
Via Gizmodo
