The University of Manchester has a graphene-based transparent conductor for LCDs that out-performs ITO (indium tin oxide), and could cost less.

"It is very conductive and very transparent," researcher Dr Kostya Novoselov told Electronics Weekly. "If you want high transparency, it is impossible to get higher than 95 per cent with ITO. You can get 98 per cent with graphene."

At this transparency, graphene offers around 100Ω/square, said Novoselov. At the 90 per cent level used in displays ITO delivers around 10Ω/square depending how it is processed: "We have made very similar figures with graphene."

Graphene - single layers of atoms flaked from bulk graphite - is dispersed in a liquid, deposited on the surface wet, and then dried. "We deposit two to three layers only, with just an anneal to get rid of the chemical," said Novoselov. "They stick really well."

The coating is chemically neutral, but is it as robust as ITO? "You can scrape ITO and graphene off. Probably ITO sticks a little better," responded Novoselov, who considers there are only a few small steps remaining to take the technology to mass production: "Graphene-based LCD products could appear in shops as soon as in a few years," he said.

Liquid Crystal Device with electrodes made of graphene with different voltages applied. The overall width of the image is 30 microns.

As a demonstration, the University has constructed an LCD using graphene conductors.

The final cost of conductive graphene coating has yet to be established, but it will not be difficult to match the ever-increasing cost of ITO as indium is a scarce metal, and ITO has to be vacuum processed.

In contrast, a million tonnes of graphite is mined every year.

"We have found a way to prepare large quantities of mono-layer graphene flakes," Novoselov told Electronics Weekly.

The process uses the common industrial solvent dimethylformamide (DMF) which according to Novoselov wets the flakes, keeping them separate as they are flaked from bulk graphite until they are deposited.

Recently the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research reported using graphene-based films as transparent electrodes for solar cells.

"The German team used a different technology for obtaining graphene films, which involved several extra steps," said the University of Manchester where Novoselov and Professor Andre Geim discovered graphene in 2004.

See also: Manchester University makes single atom graphene transistor