United Press International
Aug. 24, 2006 - U.S. researchers say they've determined carbon fibers can make tiny, cheap video displays.
Cornell University scientists say researchers have long been trying to make video displays using tiny mirrors mounted on silicon oscillators. But silicon won't oscillate fast enough and bend far enough.
"You need something incredibly stiff to oscillate at a resonant frequency of 60,000 times a second (the line-scanning rate of most video displays), but it also needs to bend a lot for adequate image size," said Shahyaan Desai, a Cornell graduate student who has worked for more than three years to create a practical micro electromechanical system video display device.
So Desai and his Cornell colleagues turned to carbon fiber -- the same material used to reinforce auto and aircraft body parts, bicycle frames and fishing rods.
"Carbon fiber is twice as stiff as silicon, but 10 times more flexible," said Desai.
He is first author of a paper with Michael Thompson, Cornell associate professor of materials science and engineering, and Anil Netravali, Cornell professor of fiber science, outlining the use of carbon fibers in MEMS.
The paper appears in the July issue of the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering.
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