Gallium arsenide (GaAs), an expensive but highly efficient semiconductor, is being studied by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to develop more efficient [than silicon] and surprisingly cheaper devices including solar cells and infrared cameras. This semiconductor can potentially increase speeds of computer chips making your computing experience more enjoyable.
The researchers, led by John Rogers, have created a technique that involves growing stacks of thin films of semiconductor onto a wafer and then taking each individual film off one by one and placing it onto a cheaper substrate or "base" to support the ultra thin (hundreds of nanometers to a few micrometers) film. The benefit of this process is that it eliminates excess material thickness for larger diameter wafers meaning that it's cheaper, and it's also more efficient.
Roger's group has successfully used this technique to "build devices -- including transistors, solar cells and infrared cameras -- on the substrates, leaving the wafer intact and ready for a new batch of film." The technique may be applied to computer chip manufacturing which will lower the cost and increase the speed of your computer!
[Via ieee spectrum]