Improvements in touch screens with quantum tunnel effect

2010/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Elektronika
• Nanoteknologia

A new material that transmits electricity from the tunnel effect will soon be used by different mobile device manufacturers. The composite "Quantum Tunneling Composite" by the English company Peratech will be used for the construction of touch screens. This allows that depending on the pressure exerted on the screen, it can be done faster or slower in strips and sheets.

The material consists basically of conductive nanoparticles in the form of dotted decks distributed equally in a polymer. The particles do not touch each other, but depending on the pressure exerted on the screen, the material will deform proportionally and the particles will approximate more or less. And the closer it is, the more likely there is to be a quantum phenomenon called the tunnel effect between particles and, therefore, to pass more or less current.

Quantum mechanics holds that some particles are capable of crossing certain barriers or impedances, even though classical mechanics do not have enough energy to perform this movement, which in short is the tunnel effect. Well, in this case, the barrier through electricity is a material between nanoparticles.