The days of folding your tablet or phone to fit in a purse or small pocket are approaching fast with the unveiling of foldable electronics. Unlike bendable substrate-based flexible electronics, foldable electronics rely on foldable substrates that come with a very stable electricity conductor that can withstand folding. It means that the conductor embroiled on the substrate must also be foldable.

foldable-electronics

Researchers have already considered a paper as the ultimate foldable substrate to replace plastic substrates since it is cheap, versatile and can be rolled up.

In the past, there has been positive progress in several foldable electronic applications. For instance, researchers in nanotechnology have already been successful making foldable paper batteries powered by algae as well as printing solar cells on paper.

Perhaps one of the most promising paths for foldable electronics is the use of graphene circuits based on paper substrates. Researchers have been able to fabricate foldable graphene circuits for use in electronics.

Graphene is the ideal candidate for foldable devices since it has an inimitable combination of properties that make it ideal for making unique conductive ink since it is chemically stable, mechanically flexible and suitable in conducting electricity. An Inkjet-printable ink made from graphene will lead to cheap and scalable path towards real-world technologies.

foldable electronics

The creation of a high performance foldable battery and the development of graphene based electronic circuits means that future electronics will be flexible. Manufactures will now design gadgets differently since they will now be foldable or rollable. Screen will now be bendable around corners and computers will be wearable. Electronics will be paper thin and exceptionally light. Giant electronic manufacturers such as Nokia and Samsung have invested a lot in research and development of foldable electronics and have already demonstrated a lot of success in this field.

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Samsung Electronics – Investing in Graphene

Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electronics, is looking into graphene properties for the production of devices that are likely to change the world. Recently, the company, through its principal research and development incubator (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology), developed a transistor structure using graphene that has ‘miracle’ characteristics.

The shortcomings of the silicon transistors that are currently in use have motivated the move into graphene transistors.

In most semiconductor devices used today, billions of transistors use silicon transistors for their performance. In order to boost their performance speeds, i.e. their speeds, manufactures either minimize the size of the silicon transistors in a bid to shorten the distance that the electrons need to travel, or replace them with materials that possess properties for faster electron mobility which will increase the output of the semiconductor devices. Over the years, most manufacturers have been reducing the size of the transistors to boost performance. However, this trend will change due to the discovery of the graphene transistors.

Graphene has electron mobility of approximately two hundred times higher than that of the conventional silicon used in making transistors used in semiconductor devices. As a result, graphene transistors are potential replacements of silicon transistors.

Graphene is the world’s thinnest material, with a thickness of one atom. In addition to being exceptional in conducting heat and electricity, it is also very strong and flexible. Samsung Electronics aims to manufacture sleek devices with these characteristics. These devices could have multiple features that aim at satisfying customers while at the same time ensuring their durability.

The fact that graphene can be used to make an ultra slim phone which is ‘bendable’ or ‘foldable’ and among other features such as transparency (just like Samsung’s ‘YOUM’) excites a lot of people.

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