Graphene, a super thin material that is touch-sensitive, pliable, transparent, and conduct electricity is revolutionizing electronics industry. The Korean behemoth, Samsung Electronics recently announced that it is introducing a curved screen TV getting one step closer to the graphene technology. The current touch screen material is known as ITO (indium tin oxide) and is subject to brittle and therefore, not suited for bendable devices. Graphene electrical conductivity is 100 times faster than silicon. This quality may help it to be used in TVs, memory chips and many others. Samsung is stockpiling a slew of patents for the technology. Graphene wrapped devices sure to revolutionize the touchscreen technology.
Some US universities including a group from the Cornell University are conducting research on graphene technology. Graphene appears to be more suited for wearables devices too. Imagine a folded tablet that can fit in your pocket or folded phone that fits into your shirt pocket? That day may not be too far away.
Samsung appears to be the early leader in graphene technology but a slew of contenders are closing in. IBM, McAlister Technology, SanDisk, Foxconn Industries, Fujitsu, Teijin, and Xerox all have applied for various patents related to graphene technology. Apple and Google are slowly moving towards it too.