"Transparency" could spawn new industries.

• Position: Electronics - Transparent transistors have great potential

The first example of an entirely new class of materials which could be used to make transparent transistors that are inexpensive, stable, and environmentally benign has been reported by researchers at Oregon State University, Corvallis, and Hewlett-Packard. This could lead to new industries and a broad range of consumer products, scientists say.

The possibilities include electronic devices produced so cheaply they almost could be one-time "throw away" products, better large-area electronics such as flat panel screens, or flexible electronics that could be folded up for ease of transport. Findings about this new class of "thin-film" materials, which are called amorphous heavy-metal cation multicomponent oxides, represent a significant breakthrough in the emerging field of transparent electronics.

The transistors not only are transparent, but could have other advantages that will help them transcend carbon-based transistor materials, such as organics and polymers, that have been the focus of hundreds of millions of dollars of research around the world. "Compared to organic or polymer transistor materials, these new inorganic oxides have higher mobility, better chemical stability, ease of manufacture, and are physically more robust," explains John Wager, professor of electrical and computer engineering. "Oxide-based transistors in many respects are already further along than organics or polymers are after many years of research, and this may blow some of them right out of the water.

"Frankly, until now, no one ever believed we could get this type of electronic performance out of transparent oxide transistors processed at low temperatures. They may be so effective that there will be many uses which don't even require...