Solar AMOLED could possibly be coming to the Garmin Fenix sequence

Garmin could have discovered a option to make photo voltaic charging work with AMOLED screens. A brand new patent reveals a intelligent technique to put down delicate photo voltaic supplies with out damaging them, focusing on superior compounds like perovskites.

It’s a well-recognized compromise in Garmin’s present lineup. You can get a vibrant AMOLED display on many fashions, however none of them help photo voltaic charging. That limitation won’t stick round for much longer.

---

The trade-off Garmin has been caught with

Solar charging on Garmin watches works effectively solely when paired with Memory-in-Pixel screens. That’s as a result of these shows want little or no backlight, so a tinted layer of photovoltaic glass doesn’t affect their readability a lot.

But AMOLED is completely different. It depends on self-illumination and vibrant shade, each of which undergo whenever you cowl the display with even a barely opaque layer. Garmin hasn’t solved that drawback but, which is why photo voltaic and AMOLED have remained separate paths.

The common workaround is to create a grid of tiny photo voltaic cells with clear areas in between. But manufacturing these grids is difficult. The present technique makes use of laser or chemical etching to take away elements of a strong photovoltaic sheet. That’s tremendous for robust supplies like silicon, but it surely tends to destroy extra fragile ones like perovskites or natural photovoltaics.

---

A non-destructive option to construct photo voltaic grids

Garmin’s new patent proposes a special technique solely. Instead of beginning with a full photo voltaic sheet and carving bits out, the method begins by constructing microscopic columns onto the display floor. These are capped with a hydrophobic coating, that means the tops repel liquid.

When a liquid photo voltaic materials is utilized to the floor, it slides off these caps and swimming pools neatly within the channels between them. Once the liquid dries, you’re left with a exact photo voltaic grid that features clear areas – with out having to chop or burn something away. This permits an AMOLED show beneath to stay seen.

It’s a clear technique that depends on fluid dynamics and floor vitality quite than brute power. The patent additionally notes that this course of works with perovskites and natural supplies, that are way more delicate than conventional silicon.

Here is an illustration we’ve put collectively on how this doubtlessly works.

---

Why perovskites make sense for wearables

Silicon-based photo voltaic cells want direct daylight to generate significant energy. That’s not very best for a wearable system, which frequently sits beneath sleeves, in shade, or indoors. Perovskite and natural photo voltaic supplies, alternatively, can operate extra effectively in diffuse gentle.

This means the watch may harvest helpful vitality even in less-than-perfect situations. If Garmin adopts these supplies, photo voltaic charging would possibly lastly really feel like an actual profit throughout every day use, not simply on lengthy hikes or summer season runs.

---

Clearer screens and finer grids

The patent additionally describes utilizing nano-imprint lithography to stamp the column sample onto the glass. This suggests the potential for terribly tremendous grids, sufficiently small to develop into invisible to the human eye.

Current solar-equipped watches usually present a reddish tint or faint grid texture in the event you look carefully. This new technique may eradicate that, permitting for a very clear display with solar energy embedded inside it.

---

What it may imply for the subsequent Fenix

It’s apparent from this patent that Garmin is attempting to resolve the AMOLED plus photo voltaic puzzle. The present Garmin lineup compelled customers to decide on between photo voltaic and display tech. This could possibly be the lacking piece that lastly combines each.

If this technique makes it into manufacturing, we’d see future Garmin watches with vibrant OLED screens and real photo voltaic contribution, with out the design compromises seen right this moment. It’s nonetheless a patent, and there’s no assure of when it should seem in a product. But this strategy immediately targets the core challenge with OLED-based photo voltaic wearables.

This article initially appeared on Gadgets & Wearables, the primary media outlet to report the story.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter! Check out our YouTube channel.

And after all, you possibly can follow Gadgets & Wearables on Google News and add us as a most well-liked supply to get our professional information, opinions, and opinion in your feeds.