Visual displays based on organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) promise to be lighter and brighter than those using older liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. But the polycrystalline silicon transistors that power OLED screens cannot be made in uniform size and shape, causing variation from one pixel to another and limiting display size.

Andrew Rinzler at the University of Florida in Gainesville and his group have created a transistor in which the 'source' electrode is made from a single-layer carbon nanotube network. These transistors can be incorporated into devices made with a wide range of organic materials to provide the required currents, potentially permitting the manufacture of larger screens operating at a voltage comparable to that of silicon-based OLEDs. The resulting devices consume eight times less power than those based on previous technologies and can, theoretically, prolong OLED lifetime by a factor of four.

Science 332, 570–573 (2011)