Samsung's researchers on Monday reported a breakthrough in light-emitting diode (LED) technology that will allow production of large display panels on ordinary glass. Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology announced the succesful development of nearly single crystalline Gallium Nitride (GaN) on amorphous glass substrates, a milestone that could enable production of super-sized LEDs using glass substrates, Samsung said.

"In ten years, window panes will double as lighting and display screens, giving personality to buildings," said a Samsung researcher who was part of the project.

The LED industry widely uses sapphire substrates but glass substrates can be tailored into ultra-large products, likely driving down production costs.

The GaN LEDs currently available in markets are 2-inches in size. The new technology can produce GaN LEDs as much as 400 times larger than the current products, according to the company.

Samsung said GaN LEDs will be applied to large-size lightings and advanced displays in coming years. However, the technology will take another 10 years to develop for commercial production.

Samsung's work was published on the online version of Nature Photonics journal.