Samsung's future smartphones could pack superhydrophobic displays, new patent licensed
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Superhydrophobic water droplets
Samsung has recently licensed a new technology called “optically clear superhydrophobic film” from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The new technology is meant to further improve the performance of glass displays on smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices.
But what exactly does a surface superhydrophobic? The answer is simple in theory: a surface must achieve a water droplet contact angle exceeding 150 degrees. The new coating technology patented by Samsung has a contact angle of between 155 and 165 degrees, which means that water droplets will bounce off from it, taking away dust particles along with it.
The team at ORNL managed to achieve these amazing results by depositing a thin glass film on a glass surface and heating the coated glass to turn the surface into two material compositions.
Aside from its uses in electronic devices, the technology has potential for applications in solar panels, detectors, windows, lenses and other similar products. However, Samsung only licensed the technology for its use on smartphone and tablets displays.
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