Samsung is all in on graphene, and it could mean real bendable devices

Samsung has been ahead of everyone else in terms of flexible displays. Its Galaxy Round was the first phone on the market with a curved screen, beating out the LG G Flex for the honor.

Today, the company announced the development of a new method for synthesizing graphene, suggesting a future where phone screens and wearable devices bend to your will. Graphene is an ullra-thin material that has a hundred times more electron mobility than silicon, one of the most commonly used materials for semiconductors.  With its durability and high heat conductibility, the material has many potential uses for the production of next generation electronic devices as a replacement for silicon.

The company, through a research partnership with Sungkyungkwan University, discovered a new way of growing large area, single crystal wafer scale graphene. The new method makes it possible to accelerate the commercialization of the material.

“This is one of the most significant breakthroughs in graphene research in history … We expect this discovery to accelerate the commercialization of graphene, which could unlock the next era of consumer electric technology,” the company said in a blog post.     

Previously, engineers ran into obstacles that made producing practical applications difficult. Researchers found that multi-crystal synthesis, the process of synthesizing small graphene particles for the production of large-area graphene, deteriorated the material’s electric and mechanical properties so much that it limited its possible applications. 

If you want to read the company’s complete findings, you can check out today’s issue of science journals Science Magazine and Science Express.