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nanotimes Editor‘s Letter

10-07/08 :: July/August 2010

photovoltaic modules. For this summer (double) edition we spoke to Alex Valenzuela, Vice President European Business Development at Konarka. We got a very interesting insight about one of the best com- panies worldwide operating in this sector. Konarka‘s product, Power Plastic®

uses nanotechnology and

organic chemistry to create the thinnest and lightest module in the world while offering opaque and semi- transparent panels in four colours.

Besides the interview, we can offer you some interesting tech news in this edition. The Company E Ink [page 24] expands the capabilities of reflective displays with Pearl, its next generation display technolo- gy. Pearl has the whitest reflective displays in the industry, and a contrast ratio now approximately 50% greater than today‘s products. And, there‘s good news for electric vehicles [page 8]: U.S. researchers will explore both cheaper metals and the more stable phosphate in place of oxide in batteries. Their lithium manganese phosphate mini battery held a little more than 150 milliAmp hours per gram of material, high- er than other researchers had been able to attain.

Plus, we will reprint some really amazing photos from the Carl Zeiss Nano Image Contest. All users of ZEISS particle beam systems can submit their most beautiful photos. The website is available for submissi- ons until September 12th.

Thomas Ilfrich