The researchers from TU Delft had a stand among 20 others as part of the Graphene Pavilion in Hall 8 for emerging technologies. Despite being on the fringe of the Mobile World Congress, many representatives found their way to the stand with the new graphene display. Their motivation was intensified by the mobile industry's new trend: virtual and augmented reality.

VR goggles often use standard mobile screens as a platform. However, using only a part of the display for each eye and adding lenses soon reveals the limits in display resolution. Consequently, in VR images, separate pixels are often visible.

Hence the industry's hunger for higher resolution screens. Sony showed the newest Xperia model featuring an 800 ppi (pixels per inch) display. When someone then says they are developing a technology that can produce 1,200 ppi displays, he is bound to draw the industry's attention.

PhD candidates Santiago Cartamil-Bueno, Dejan Davidovikj, Dr. Samer Houri, and Gabi Predikant (public relations) had a busy week and collected a stack of business cards carrying names like Samsung, Sony, Bosch, Analog Devices, and Huawei.

Back in Delft, Cartamil-Bueno has emailed some of them back. He is now looking for a research partner that can help developing illumination, packaging, and electronics for the graphene display.

He looks back on a "very successful visit". Apart from the networking they did, it was useful to get a better understanding of the present needs of the mobile industry. The demand for high-resolution VR/AR displays was new to him, and a lucky coincidence with the graphene display properties.