These early discoveries were "lost" until the recent emergence of such melanins in device applications, particularly electroluminescent displays.

Planar is pursuing electroluminescent displays, which produce sharp images but cannot yet display color pictures.

In an electroluminescent display (ELD), the image is created by applying electrical signals to the plates which makes the phosphor glow.

The computer could be run from batteries, and was equipped with a 320x200-pixel electroluminescent display and 384 kilobyte bubble memory.

But the Washington-based trade group won them only on highly advanced active matrix displays and on electroluminescent displays, for which a 7 percent duty was assessed.

The computer featured an Intel 8086 processor, a 320 x 240-pixel electroluminescent display, 340-kilobyte magnetic bubble memory, and a 1,200 bit/s modem.

It put duties of 7.02 percent on Sharp and other companies that make electroluminescent displays.

"Here's an electroluminescent display - you find it in portable computers and pagers and watches and night lights," he said.

A digital compass, with an electroluminescent display set into the mirror's surface, was added in 1993.

A.C. electroluminescent (EL) multi-color displays can cover many tens of square meters, or be incorporated in watch faces and instrument displays.