See-through electronics

Engineers at Oregon State University have created a transparent transistor, a see-through electronics component that could potentially lead to many new products.

The transparent transistor is made from a common compound that also happens to filter out ultraviolet light - zinc oxide. It is an 'n-type' semiconductor, which uses basic electron transport and moves more quickly and efficiently compared to 'p-type' products.

Possible applications may include: improving the quality of LCDs; building electronic devices into window glass or the windshield of a vehicle; and accommodating new circuits or functions into flat panel displays.

Transparent materials that conduct electricity have been around since the 1940s, however the scientists believe that transparent transistors open up a much broader potential of electronic devices that require control, logic, switching and other transistor functions.