New Research: Developing energy-efficient screens for computers, mobile phones

Anyone who uses a laptop or mobile phone knows that the screens on the devices use a lot of power. Discovering new ways to make the screens more efficient at a reasonable cost is the goal of a new research project involving Tian Yang, an associate professor at the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute.
Yang was recently awarded funding to work on the project with L. Jay Guo, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Michigan, and Gufeng He, a professor from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The researchers aim to improve the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells, which convert light energy to electrical power, and organic light-emitting diodes, which use electric power to generate light.
Yang and his teammates are testing whether diodes and cells made with organic thin film material with tiny biomimetic wrinkles or grooves will be more energy efficient.
The research project is just one of seven involving joint teams from U-M and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The teams are part of the fourth annual round of funding for the U-M/SJTU Collaborative Research Programs for Energy and Biomedical Technology. The programs bring together teams with complementary perspectives and areas of expertise to address challenges in energy and health that transcend national borders.
The programs fund projects that have commercial potential and that are likely to attract follow-on research funding from the U.S. and Chinese governments, as well as from industry.
More details about the other projects can be found here.