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Asia Pac. Phys. Newslett. 2013.02:60-65. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com by 176.35.225.76 on 03/27/13. For personal use only.
Amazingly, graphene was discovered by exfoliation (or peeling) of graphite using what nowadays is called scotch tape technique. Since this discovery the field has evolved significantly to the production of graphene via more controlled techniques such as epitaxial growth and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Nowadays graphene wafers can be produced routinely. Although graphene is one atom thick, it can be seen with an ordinary optical microscope when placed on top of a properly chosen substrates. It has the properties of a good metal, although its electronic properties do not fit the standard theory of metals. Graphene is also resistant against extrinsic impurities because its chemical bonding is very specific. Consequently graphene conducts electricity better, with less energy loss, than any other semiconductor, including Si, and even Cu. Moreover, graphene is one of the strongest materials ever measured. The only other material that is comparable in strength is diamond, another
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Create new knowledge in a selected area of focus which is of strategic relevance to Singapores economy. With a generous start-up funding from NUS, and approximately 3,000 m2 of space for its facilities, the GRC is quickly becoming a worldwide reference in the study of ATFs. Today, GRC counts with several laboratories with the state of the art tools for the growth and study of new materials and development of new devices that have the potential to disrupt several different industrial sectors, from the electronics industry to composite materials manufacturing. In June 2012, GRC inaugurated its Micro and NanoFabrication Facility which is the first of its kind, allowing for the synthesis, characterization, and device fabrication in a closed, controlled, clean room environment which guarantees the best possible device performance. GRC also counts with a large computer cluster (800 nodes) for the simulation and modeling of new materials and devices. In fact, GRC was planned to be a fully self-contained institute where experiment, theory and applications are developed simultaneously and harmoniously. GRC has also been supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore. GRC has been able to secure funding for its many projects through competitive grant applications. In 2011, Prof. Castro Neto was awarded
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In a publication in the journal Nature (Nature, 2012; 487, 82) GRC researchers, in collaboration with scientists from University of California San Diego, made their mark in the rapidly developing field of graphene plasmonics (see Figure). Plasmons are collective electron oscillations in metals or semiconductors that enable confinement and control of electromagnetic energy at sub-wavelength scales. Using infrared nano-imaging, it was shown that common graphene/SiO2/Si back-gated structures support propagating surface plasmons. The wavelength of graphene plasmons is of the order of 200nanometers at technologically relevant infrared frequencies, and they can propagate several times
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this distance. It is possible to alter both the amplitude and the wavelength of the plasmons by varying the gate voltage. Using plasmon interferometry, we have investigated the electromagnetic losses in graphene by exploring real-space profiles of plasmon standing waves formed between the tip of a nano-probe and the edges of the samples. Plasmon dissipation quantified through this analysis is linked to the exotic electrodynamics of graphene, which resembles the electrodynamics of massless particles propagating at the speed of light, the so-called Dirac particles. Standard plasmonic figures of merit of these tunable graphene devices surpass those of common metal-based structures. The concept of strain engineering is based on the modifications of the electronic properties of a material by application of stress, shear, or pressure. In a publication in the journal Nature Communications (Nature Communications 2012; 3, 823), Prof. Loh Kian Ping and collaborators at GRC have shown that graphene can be controllably transformed from a semi-metal to a semiconductor by chemically delaminating it from a substrate and producing nano-bubbles that behave as quantum dots with large electronic gaps. These nano-bubbles can be used in a large number of different applications in nanotechnology since they, unlike unstrained graphene, have a large on-off electrical current ratio and can be used in digital applications. The journal Nature (Nature 2012; 488, 140) has recently pointed out that NUS is one of the world leader in publications in the area of graphene, surpassing universities in the United States and Europe.
Forward looking
Graphene is a multi-purpose, multi-functional, material and the industrial possibilities for its use are only limited by our imagination. The interest in the industrial use of graphene and other 2DC has been tremendous. Several market
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Asia Pac. Phys. Newslett. 2013.02:60-65. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com by 176.35.225.76 on 03/27/13. For personal use only.
Fig. 6. Graphene nano-bubbles that are 5nm in diameter and 0.5nm in height.
research reports have pointed out the enormous potential of graphene for a large number of applications: electronic circuits, flexible electronics, fuel cells, infrared filters, photo sensors, solar cells, organic electronics (organic light emitting diodes and organic solar cells), supercapacitors and batteries, chemical and bio sensors, electro actuators, among others. Graphene-based companies are springing around the world in the expectation of big profits in just a few years time. For instance, for solution processed graphene alone, the projected marked for 2020 is of approximately US$ 675 Million according to the BCC, Market Research Report (1-59623-715-5). For flexible electronics the projected numbers are actually much higher. The IDTechEx 2011 Market Research Report Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene for Electronics
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Graphene Island
In technology, the best way to predict the future is to create it. At GRC, we are exploring science at its frontiers and creating new disruptive technologies that can have direct impact in our society by creating new markets and job opportunities. The path that we are following, that is, investigating materials that will lead to progress and prosperity, is no different from what our ancestors have been doing for many millennia. This time, however, we have on our side the knowledge of quantum physics and the recent developments in materials science, nano-science, and nano-technology, and the discovery of 2D crystals, to lead the way. This field is still in its infancy but we are moving fast. In the same way that in the 20th century the silicon technology created the Silicon Valley in the USA, we are working hard and diligently so that, one day in the 21st century, Singapore will be called the Graphene Island.
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Fig. 8: Figures of merit in exible and transparent thin lm technology: transparency versus electrical resistance.
In its two and one half years of existence, GRC PIs have generated more than 40 patent applications. One of its patents have been licensed for a spin-off company called Graphite Zero that has the target of producing industrial quantities of graphene flakes by chemical exfoliation. This company has attracted already US$ 1 M of foreign investment. GRC is also in the process of signing joint development agreements (JDA) with several large companies such as BASF
Fig. 9
graphene.nus.edu.sg
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