“Nanobuds” Could Turn Almost Any Surface Into a Touch Sensor
Touch screens are usually made by overlaying a display screen with a transparent sheet of indium tin oxide. This material is brittle, however, and can’t be used on anything other than a flat surface.
Carbon nanobuds are better because the ball-like appendages are particularly good at emitting electrons, which improves those electrical connections.
Canatu has 40 prototype products in the works. It recently built its first full-scale manufacturing equipment, which can produce enough film to cover hundreds of thousands of smartphone touch screens every month. Next year the company plans to install enough machines to supply millions of smartphones.
The material isn’t a good fit for all applications, though. The conductivity isn’t high enough for very large screens, for example.