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Apr 14

New silver-packing transparent conductive film could mean more durable touchscreens

Posted in: Japan, japanese, Today's Chili, touchscreen

We first heard of the wonders of silver ink back in 2009, but it wasn’t until earlier this year, with talk of 3M’s new capacitive touchscreens, that we experienced its real-world potential for display technology. Well, it looks like 3M’s not the only name in the Ag game, in fact Tokyo-based Toray Industries recently announced the development of a transparent conductive film that ditches the traditional ITO (indium tin oxide) for silver wire. In order to produce this new material, a layer of Ag wires, measuring several hundred nanometers, is applied to a polyester (PET) film by way of a wet method. The result, the company said, is a more flexible, durable, and transparent film that is well suited to touchscreens of just about any size — what’s more, it decreases dependence on rare earth metals. There’s no word yet on when the film will appear on real-deal devices, but we’ll definitely keep an eye out for the silver screens. Full PR after the break.