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Thinnest-Known, Foldable LED for Integrated Electronic Devices

University of Washington scientists have built the thinnest-known LED that can be used as a source of light energy in electronics. The LED is made from flat sheets of tungsten diselenide, a member of a group of two-dimensional materials that have been recently identified as the thinnest-known semiconductors. The scientists use regular adhesive tape to extract a single sheet of this material from thick, layered pieces. In this video, a University of Washington researcher demonstrates the technique to isolate a single layer of graphene. This simple technique, commonly used by scientists worldwide, can isolate monolayers of many materials including tungsten diselenide. "We are able to make the thinnest-possible LEDs, only three atoms thick yet mechanically strong. Such thin and foldable LEDs are critical for future portable and integrated electronic devices," says assistant professor Xiaodong Xu.