The Korean tech giant says the technology might have an application in wearables too

Apr 4, 2014 08:37 GMT  ·  By

Before MWC 2014 we told you Samsung might have had something special planned, but just for the select eyes of few. Rumor had it the Korean tech giant was going to showcase a bendable tablet behind closed doors only for VIPs and partners.

Anyway, it appears the tech giant might have really been taunting a prototype of such a flexible device, because today the company has announced a breakthrough in graphene research, which has direct implications for flexible gadgets.

The advancement consists in the discovery of a new method to speed up the commercialization of graphene, a unique material to be used in consumer electronic devices.

Graphine has been hailed as being a material better than silicon, flexible yet more durable than steel itself. On top of that, it promotes high heat conduction, so it’s perfect to be implemented in consumer electronics like flexible displays, wearables and other products.

Graphene has one hundred times greater electron mobility than silicon, which is the most used material in manufacturing semiconductors today.

We haven’t heard much in terms of graphene research as of late, but Samsung claims the new discovery is going to push the technology into the spotlight.

Sammy has worked side by side with specialists at the Sungkyunkwan University’s School of Advanced Materials Science and has managed to come up with a solution for producing “large area, single crystal wafer scale graphen” or put another way, big, thin sheets of it.

Samsung notes scientists and companies across the world have invested in graphene research, hoping to find a way to commercialize graphene easier, but have been faced with multiple challenges.

One of them involves multi-crystal synthesis which translates to the process of synthesiszing small graphene particles in order to produce large-area graphene. Researchers found the process only managed to deteriorate the electrical and mechanical properties of the material, thus damaging it.

Graphene might be Samsung's answer for flexible devices
Graphene might be Samsung's answer for flexible devices
But the new method developed by Samsung and its partners manages to synthesize large-area graphene into a single crystal on a semiconductor and maintaining the properties in the process, as well.

Earlier in March, we told you about another invention which might encourage the appearance of flexible, rollable tablets. The University of Surrey in collaboration with another tech giant, this time Philips has developed a source-gated transistor (SGT).

SGT involves thin plastic sheets of electronic circuits, reminiscent of sheets of paper, but the problem was it could only be reproduced in small quantities. But the research team has managed to find a way for the technology to be implemented in mobile devices. Anyway, this appears to be a totally different way of going about things.

Bottom line, is that it seems bendable tablets are going to become a reality sooner or later. So who’s ready for bendable tablets?

Photo Gallery (2 Images)

Samsung promises truly flexible gadgets
Graphene might be Samsung's answer for flexible devices
Open gallery