≥200 times the strength of steel, graphene is the strongest material ever tested. ≥Nanometre Experimental graphene transistors are just a few nanometres across, a thousand times smaller than the transistors on silicon chips. Sheets of carbon just a single atom thick could herald a new generation of electronics devices thanks to research supported by EPSRC. Although these graphene sheets are incredibly thin and flexible, they are also the strongest material ever tested and conduct electricity and heat exceptionally well. Professor Andre Geim and colleagues at the University of Manchester invented graphene in 2004, with EPSRC support, despite theory telling them that materials just one atom thick couldn’t be made. EPSRC funding is now helping researchers develop real-life applications for graphene. GRAPHIC IMPACT > Graphene could be used to make next generation transistors that are a fraction of the size of current devices and so help miniaturise microelectronics, speed up computers and other devices. > Plugging the so-called “terahertz gap” between microwaves and infrared might be possible with graphene. This might allow satellite to aircraft communication and new non-invasive medical imaging. > Atomically, graphene could beat the clock, allowing new timekeeping devices for ultraprecision scientific experiments to be made accurate to one second in hundreds of millions of years. Graphene, layer by layer The discovery of graphene, a new form of carbon, which resembles a microscopic hexagonal mesh chicken wire, heralds a new era in materials science and electronics. Thanks to research at the University of Manchester, supported by EPSRC, this novel material could allow electronics devices to be built on a scale a thousand times smaller than silicon- based devices. Stripped and super-skinny Geim’s team were hoping to make new materials that were as thin as possible when they found a way to synthesise a sheet of carbon just one atom thick. They began with its chemical cousin, graphite, the stuff of pencil “lead” and stripped it down layer by layer until they were left with a layer just one atom thick. Graphene was born – the strongest material ever tested, astonishingly stiff yet paradoxically flexible, and a phenomenal conductor of heat and electricity. Thin sliced applications The next step in the graphene story is to develop and test its potential in applications as diverse as electronics, medical imaging, and even airport security. It is the thinness of graphene, coupled with its electrical conductivity, that makes it useful for developing electronic components on a scale unattainable using semiconductors like silicon and gallium arsenide. Tera in the sky Graphene’s peculiar properties also make it a potential candidate for building devices that work in the terahertz frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum. This range lies between microwaves and the infrared. It holds the promise of a new type of imaging that can see inside objects without using hazardous X-rays. The same frequencies could also allow high-flying aircraft to communicate with satellites and the development of new sensors for detecting environmental pollutants. For more information about EPSRC and the impact it is making visit www.impactworld.org.uk Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council I IMPACT! Case study 05 THE SUPER-SKINNY MATERIAL THAT COULD TRANSFORM ELECTRONICS
The super-skinny material that could transform electronics
Mar 27, 2016
Sheets of carbon just a single atom thick could herald a new generation of electronics devices thanks to research supported by EPSRC. Although these graphene sheets are incredibly thin and flexible, they are also the strongest material ever tested and conduct electricity and heat exceptionally well.
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≥200times the strength of steel,graphene is the strongestmaterial ever tested.
≥NanometreExperimental graphenetransistors are just a fewnanometres across, a thousandtimes smaller than thetransistors on silicon chips.
Sheets of carbon just a single atom thick could herald a newgeneration of electronics devices thanks to research supportedby EPSRC. Although these graphene sheets are incredibly thinand flexible, they are also the strongest material ever tested andconduct electricity and heat exceptionally well.
Professor Andre Geim and colleaguesat the University of Manchester inventedgraphene in 2004, with EPSRC support,despite theory telling them that materialsjust one atom thick couldn’t be made.EPSRC funding is now helping researchersdevelop real-life applications for graphene.
GRAPHIC IMPACT> Graphene could be used to make next
generation transistors that are a fractionof the size of current devices and sohelp miniaturise microelectronics,speed up computers and other devices.
> Plugging the so-called “terahertz gap”between microwaves and infrared mightbe possible with graphene. This mightallow satellite to aircraft communicationand new non-invasive medical imaging.
> Atomically, graphene could beat theclock, allowing new timekeeping devicesfor ultraprecision scientific experimentsto be made accurate to one second inhundreds of millions of years.
Graphene, layer by layerThe discovery of graphene, a new form ofcarbon, which resembles a microscopichexagonal mesh chicken wire, heraldsa new era in materials science andelectronics. Thanks to research at theUniversity of Manchester, supported byEPSRC, this novel material could allowelectronics devices to be built on a scalea thousand times smaller than silicon-based devices.
Stripped and super-skinnyGeim’s team were hoping to make newmaterials that were as thin as possiblewhen they found a way to synthesise asheet of carbon just one atom thick.
They began with its chemical cousin,graphite, the stuff of pencil “lead” andstripped it down layer by layer until theywere left with a layer just one atom thick.Graphene was born – the strongestmaterial ever tested, astonishingly stiff yetparadoxically flexible, and a phenomenalconductor of heat and electricity.
Thin sliced applicationsThe next step in the graphene storyis to develop and test its potential inapplications as diverse as electronics,medical imaging, and even airportsecurity. It is the thinness of graphene,coupled with its electrical conductivity,that makes it useful for developingelectronic components on a scaleunattainable using semiconductorslike silicon and gallium arsenide.
Tera in the skyGraphene’s peculiar properties also makeit a potential candidate for building devicesthat work in the terahertz frequency rangeof the electromagnetic spectrum. Thisrange lies between microwaves and theinfrared. It holds the promise of a new typeof imaging that can see inside objectswithout using hazardous X-rays. The samefrequencies could also allow high-flyingaircraft to communicate with satellitesand the development of new sensors fordetecting environmental pollutants.
For more information aboutEPSRC and the impact it is makingvisit www.impactworld.org.uk
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council I IMPACT! Case study 05
THE SUPER-SKINNYMATERIAL THAT COULDTRANSFORM ELECTRONICS
case study 05_graphene v4AW:EPSRC 23/9/09 17:15 Page 1
Engineering and Physical SciencesResearch Council
www.epsrc.ac.uk
200TIMES STRONGER
THAN STEEL
GRAPHENE IS
case study 05_graphene v4AW:EPSRC 23/9/09 17:15 Page 2
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