Researchers at Harvard University have demonstrated for the first time that they can easily apply a film of tiny, high-performance silicon nanowires to glass and plastic, a development that could pave the way for the next generation of cheaper, lighter and more powerful consumer electronics.

According to Dr. Charles M. Lieber, head of the research project and a professor of chemistry at Harvard, the first devices made with this new nanowire technology will probably improve on existing devices such as smart cards and LCD displays, which use conventional amorphous silicon and organic semiconductors that are comparatively slow and are already approaching their technological limitations.

Within the next decade, consumers could see more exotic applications of this nanotechnology, Leiber says. “One could imagine, for instance, contact lenses with displays and miniature computers on them, so that you can experience a virtual tour of a new city as you walk around wearing them on your eyes, or alternatively harness this power to create a vision system that enables someone who has impaired vision or is blind to ‘see’.”

American Chemical Society press release