New Method of Growing High-Quality Graphene Promising for Next-Gen Technology

Making waves as the material that will revolutionize electronics, graphene -- composed of a single layer of Carbon atoms -- has nonetheless been challenging to produce in a way that will be practical for innovative electronics applications. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a method to synthesize high quality graphene in a controlled manner that may pave the way for next-generation electronics application.Kaustav Banerjee, a professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering department and Director of the Nanoelectronics Research Lab at UCSB that has been studying carbon nanomaterials for more than seven years, led the research team to perfect methods of growing sheets of graphene, as detailed in a study to be published in the November 2011 issue of the journal Carbon.


"Our process has certain unique advantages that give rise to high quality graphene," says Banerjee. "For the electronics industry to effectively use graphene, it must first be grown selectively and in larger sheets. We have developed a synthesis technique that yields high- quality and high-uniformity graphene that can be translated into a scalable process for industry applications."


Using adhesive tape to lift flakes of graphene from graphite, University of Manchester researchers Geim and Novoselov were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering isolation and characterization of the material. To launch graphene into futuristic applications, however, researchers have been seeking a controlled and efficient way to grow a higher quality of this single-atom-thick material in larger areas.


The discovery by UCSB researchers turns graphene production into an industry-friendly process by improving the quality and uniformity of graphene using efficient and reproducible methods. They were able to control the number of graphene layers produced -- from mono-layer to bi-layer graphene -- an important distinction for future applications in electronics and other technology.


"Intel has a keen interest in graphene due to many possibilities it holds for the next generation of energy- efficient computing, but there are many roadblocks along the way," added Intel Fellow, Shekhar Borkar. "The scalable synthesis technique developed by Professor Banerjee's group at UCSB is an important step forward."


As a material, graphene is the thinnest and strongest in the world -- more than 100 times stronger than diamond -- and is capable of acting as an ultimate conductor at room temperature. If it can be produced effectively, graphene's properties make it ideal for advancements in green electronics, super strong materials, and medical technology. Graphene could be used to make flexible screens and electronic devices, computers with 1,000 GHz processors that run on virtually no energy, and ultra-efficient solar power cells.