PDAs and fancy new cellphones promise video on the move, and for that they
need bright colour screens that consume very little power. Fuji says its
鈥渞emarkable improvements鈥 in organic electro-luminescence hold the key (GB 2 352
327). Organic dyes are sandwiched between glass plate electrodes coated with a
metal oxide. A thin oxide film is good at letting light through, but it is a
poor conductor and wastes electricity. The trick, says Fuji, is to deposit the
oxide on the glass, and then shine ultraviolet light on it, first in pure oxygen
and then in pure nitrogen. This makes the film both optically flatter and lower
in electrical resistance, so it gives brighter pictures with less power drain.
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