Image boost for TVs, computers, and phones.

• Position: Semiconductors

A novel device could lead to a significant leap in the quality of images on smartphones, computer displays, TVs, and inkjet printers. A cutting-edge material and manufacturing process developed at UCLA are used to produce semiconductors that are essential to liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diode--or OLED--displays.

Led by Yang Yang, the team created a high-performance device that can be produced without requiring a clean room or the expensive equipment now commonly in use. "Our semiconductor process is faster, less expensive, and more reliable than existing processes," says Yang, a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department and a member of the California NanoSystems Institute. "We strongly believe it can be used as a technology to replace existing processes and scale up production of thin-film transistors."

LCDs and OLEDs use millions of pixels to form text and images on the screen. Thin-film transistors, or TFTs, are the key component of the technology that controls the brightness and color provided by each pixel. Typically, a transistor's performance is judged by electron "mobility," or the ability to adjust precisely the voltage and current that turn pixels on and off. Transistors with higher electron...