Insights

Cathode ray tubes have dominated the display industry for over 70 years but the demand for better quality devices has promoted technology development. Consumers call for suitably priced displays with improved features. Nanotechnology, an emerging approach to upgrade flat displays, improves the performance and quality while taking environmental aspects into account. It also provides novel features such as foldability and flexibility.

Matryoshka going nano?

Canatu, a spin-off from Aalto University (since 2004), is developing cost-effective manufacturing of transparent flexible conductive films based on carbon nanomaterials needed for touch screens, sensors and solar cells. Their R&D project done within the Tekes Functional Materials Programme aims to provide a superior alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO), which is brittle and difficult to process and based on scarce natural resources.

The Annual Seminar of the Tekes Functional Materials Programme arranged by Spinverse in Helsinki on October 20th, 2010 gathered together the Finnish Materials Society. Among several discussion themes, the importance of life-cycle thinking and material and energy efficiency was raised up as a topic connecting the participants of several branches of industry and academia. Including these aspects already as part of the research and development phase is becoming more and more crucial for the competitiveness of the industry.

The chameleon, the symbol of the Tekes Functional Materials Programme, reminds us that nature knows how to effectively make and use functional materials.

Solar energy is a common application area for nanotechnology

The 2010 Millennium Technology Prize Laureates have been announced. They are:

Finnish Enterprise Mobility Cluster: Mobility, antennas and... speed?