Organic LED light source for home electronics

Electronic products pollute our environment with many heavy metals before, during and after they're used. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfill come from discarded electronics. With flat screen TVs getting bigger and cheaper every year, environmental costs continue to mount.

To counter this, a new Tel Aviv University solution applies a discovery in nano-technology, based on self-assembled peptide nanotubes, to "green" the optics and electronics industry. Scientists Nadav Amdursky and Prof. Gil Rosenman of Tel Aviv University's Department of Electrical Engineering say their technology could make flat screen TV production green and can even make medical equipment - like subcutaneous ultrasound devices - more sensitive.

Inspired by a biomaterial involved in Alzheimer's disease research discovered by Prof. Ehud Gazit of the university's Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, the researchers developed a new nano-material, applying the scientific disciplines of both biology and physics. This biological material is the basis for their new, environmentally-friendly variety of light-emitting diodes (LED) used in both consumer and medical electronics.

TV in a test tube?
Their new invention is more than a clean, green way to create light, the scientists say. It also generates a strong signal that can be used in other applications in the nano-world of motors, actuators and ultrasound.

"We are growing our own light sources," says Amdursky, a doctoral student working under Prof. Rosenman's supervision. The organic nano-lightsticks he and his supervisors have developed using organic chemistry are made from carbon, making them cheap as well as environmentally friendly.

Unlike conventional light sources, the biologically-derived light source has a nano-scale architecture, easing the integration into light-emitting devices such as LED TVs and improving the resolution of the picture as well. The Tel Aviv University team has recently written a patent to cover their "organic LED" lights.

From living rooms to hospital rooms
As per Amdursky, the light emitted by the new light sticks is not appreciably different than that which emanates from today's inorganically engineered LED lights.

"We don't need a special plant, bacterium or a big machine to grow these structures in," says Amdursky, who says the applications of the technology are wider than the widest screen television. The core technology and structures, described in Advanced Materials, Nano Letters, and ACS Nano, exhibit "piezoelectric characteristics," necessary for the development of tiny nano-ultrasound machines that could scan cells from inside the body. Piezoelectric motors or actuators are only dozens of nanometers wide, which can lead to their application in energy harvesting systems as super-capacitors - large energy storage devices, necessary for the solar energy and wind energy business.

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Advance could change modern electronics

CORVALLIS, Ore. Scientists at Oregon State University have solved a quest in fundamental material science that has eluded researchers since the 1960s, and could form the basis of a new approach to electronics.

The discovery, just reported online in the professional journal Advanced Materials, outlines the creation for the first time of a high-performance "metal-insulator-metal" diode.

"Scientists have been trying to do this for decades, until now without success," said Douglas Keszler, a distinguished professor of chemistry at OSU and one of the nation's leading material science researchers. "Diodes made previously with other approaches always had poor yield and performance.

"This is a fundamental change in the way you could produce electronic products, at high speed on a huge scale at very low cost, even less than with conventional methods," Keszler said. "It's a basic way to eliminate the current speed limitations of electrons that have to move through materials".

A patent has been applied for on the new technology, university officials say. New companies, industries and high-tech jobs may ultimately emerge from this advance, they say.

The research was done in the Center for Green Materials Chemistry, and has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Laboratory and the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute.

Conventional electronics made with silicon-based materials work with transistors that help control the flow of electrons. Eventhough fast and comparatively inexpensive, this approach is still limited by the speed with which electrons can move through these materials. And with the advent of ever-faster computers and more sophisticated products such as liquid crystal displays, current technologies are nearing the limit of what they can do, experts say.

By contrast, a metal-insulator-metal, or MIM diode can be used to perform some of the same functions, but in a fundamentally different way. In this system, the device is like a sandwich, with the insulator in the middle and two layers of metal above and below it. In order to function, the electron doesn't so much move through the materials as it "tunnels" through the insulator almost instantaneously appearing on the other side.

"When they first started to develop more sophisticated materials for the display industry, they knew this type of MIM diode was what they needed, but they couldn't make it work," Keszler said. "Now we can, and it could probably be used with a range of metals that are inexpensive and easily available, like copper, nickel or aluminum. It's also much simpler, less costly and easier to fabricate".

The findings were made by scientists in the OSU Department of Chemistry; School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.

In the newly released study, the OSU researchers and engineers describe use of an "amorphous metal contact" as a technology that solves problems that previously plagued MIM diodes. The OSU diodes were made at relatively low temperatures with techniques that would lend themselves to manufacture of devices on a variety of substrates over large areas.

OSU scientists have been leaders in many important material science advances in recent years, including the field of transparent electronics. University researchers will do some initial work with the new technology in electronic displays, but a number of applications are possible, they say.

High speed computers and electronics that don't depend on transistors are possibilities. Also on the horizon are "energy harvesting" technologies such as the nighttime capture of re-radiated solar energy, a way to produce energy from the Earth as it cools during the night.

"For a long time, everyone has wanted something that takes us beyond silicon," Keszler said. "This could be a way to simply print electronics on a huge size scale even less expensively than we can now. And when the products begin to emerge the increase in speed of operation could be enormous".

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Deals on Electronics, Watches, Family Products

New York (12/10/2010)-For perpetual bargain hunters and other shoppers looking to get a great deal on the latest electronics, brand name watches, wireless accessories, jewelry and more, 1SaleaDay.com is the lowest-priced deal-of-the-day website offering unheard-of exclusive deals on just a single item and only for 24 hours. To keep customers coming back for more, 1SaleaDay.com even offers surprise free products once or twice a week.

As the largest independently-owned daily deal site in the world, 1SaleaDay.com leverages its tremendous buying power with major brands and retailers plus a dedicated team of competitive price-comparison experts to offer outrageous deals to more than 350,000 daily site visitors, like a Magellan Roadmate GPS, HD camcorder or 12 MP digital camera-all of which recently sold for just $39.99.

How 1SaleaDay.com offer such amazing prices? Rather than spend precious dollars on marketing to attract new customers, 1SaleaDay focuses on giving deep savings to customers, who then pass the word on about the great deals they've discovered at the site.

"Thousands of customers make 1SaleaDay.com their first web stop of the day to see what's hot and get the best deal on the products they want at a price anyone can afford," said Ben Federman CEO of 1SaleaDay.com. "Collectors, gadget geeks and even parents and grandparents check us out first to get the best deals anywhere on the web on gifts for their kids or grandkids - or even for themselves."

With a new deal posted everyday at midnight EST in each of five categories-Deal of the Day, Wireless, Watch, Family and Jewelry-1SaleaDay entices shoppers who stop by every day to check out the deal, offering items like a TomTom GPS device, luxury watches, a waterproof MP3 player with earphones, black freshwater cultured pearls, and even kid's games, accessories and home decor.

Once in a while, 1SaleaDay clears out its inventory with the Chunk o'Junk Deal featuring a box full of items randomly selected from past deals, such as laptops, MP3 players, USB adapters, GPS units, cables, accessories and cell phones - a $200 value - sold for just $5 plus $5 shipping. Chunk o'Junk deals are limited to the first 1,000 customers and are usually gone in just a few hours.

"Customers often tell us that they love shopping at 1SaleaDay not only for the great deals, but also for the fun, creative and catchy descriptions for the products," Federman said. "We don't just tell them about the product-we tell them how they can use it to get the most out of their purchase."

Most items ship the day after ordering and typically arrive in 3-5 business days via UPS or USPS. Products offered on 1SaleaDay.com are almost always new, in original packaging, with occasional deals on refurbished or wholesale packaged items for even greater savings. The site is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and authenticated secure by Comodo, Authorize.net, McAfee and PayPal.

To find out about today's Deal of the Day, visit www.1SaleaDay.com. And, stop back tomorrow for a different deal-there's a new one posted every day.

About 1SaleaDay.com
1SaleaDay.com offers the deepest discounts on a variety of merchandise with a new deal posted every day at 12 midnight EDT. With Deals of the Day in five categories, including Wireless, Watch, Family and Jewelry, 1SaleaDay leverages its global buying power to offer discounts up to 90% off retail prices for electronics, collectibles, housewares, toys and more. Headquartered in New York, NY, 1SaleaDay.com is part of a family of discount retailers that includes Ben's Outlet, Dynamite Time and Glasses Unlimited. For more information, visit, www.1SaleaDay.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Belinda Banks
SS | PR
609 750 9110
belinda@sspr.com

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