Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors







Heifer International

Wikipedia Affiliate Button


Home > Press > Scientists researching graphene stumble upon surprising result

Abstract:
Researchers from the United Kingdom have uncovered an unexpected characteristic of graphene by demonstrating a method that uses graphene as a building block to create new three-dimensional (3D) crystal structures which are not confined by what nature can produce.

Scientists researching graphene stumble upon surprising result

Manchester, UK | Posted on July 30th, 2012

Set out in the journal Nature Materials, their method involves sandwiching individual graphene sheets between insulating layers in order to produce electrical devices with unique new properties.

The hope is that this new method will open up a whole new dimension of physics research.

Graphene is a 2D material consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb or chicken wire structure. It is the thinnest material in the world and yet is also one of the strongest. It conducts electricity as efficiently as copper and outperforms all other materials as a conductor of heat.

The scientists proved that a new side-view imaging technique can be used to visualise the individual atomic layers of graphene within the devices they have built. They found that the structures were almost perfect even when more than 10 different layers were used to build the stack.

This development further proves graphene's suitability as a major component in the next generation of computer chips.

The researchers' side-view imaging approach works by first extracting a thin slice from the centre of the device. The team likens this to cutting through a rock to reveal the geological layers or slicing into a chocolate cake to reveal the individual layers of icing.

The scientists used a beam of ions to cut into the surface of the graphene and dig a trench on either side of the section they wanted to isolate. They then removed a thin slice of the device.

Lead study author Dr Sarah Haigh, from the University of Manchester, comments: 'Our slices are only around 100 atoms thick and this allows us to visualise the individual atomic layers of graphene in projection.

'We have found that the observed roughness of the graphene is correlated with their conductivity. Of course we have to make all our electrical measurements before cutting into the device. We were also able to observe that the layers were perfectly clean and that any debris left over from production segregated into isolated pockets and so did not affect device performance. We plan to use this new side view imaging approach to improve the performance of our graphene devices.'

Two of the study researchers, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, both from the University of Manchester, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their 'groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene'.

####

For more information, please click here

Copyright © Cordis

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

How do cold ions slide May 24th, 2013

Heinrich Rohrer dies at 79; a father of nanotechnology: With IBM colleague Gerd Binnig, Rohrer invented the scanning tunneling microscope, which can show individual atoms on a surface and move them around May 23rd, 2013

Gold nanocrystal vibration captured on billion-frames-per-second film May 23rd, 2013

Imaging

Heinrich Rohrer dies at 79; a father of nanotechnology: With IBM colleague Gerd Binnig, Rohrer invented the scanning tunneling microscope, which can show individual atoms on a surface and move them around May 23rd, 2013

Gold nanocrystal vibration captured on billion-frames-per-second film May 23rd, 2013

Whirlpools on the Nanoscale Could Multiply Magnetic Memory: At the Advanced Light Source, Berkeley Lab scientists join an international team to control spin orientation in magnetic nanodisks May 22nd, 2013

Atomic-Scale Investigations Solve Key Puzzle of LED Efficiency: MIT and Brookhaven Lab scientists use electron microscopy imaging techniques to settle a solid-state controversy and raise new experimental possibilities May 22nd, 2013

JPK reports on single molecule research at IISER Pune in India using AFM and CellHesion techniques May 21st, 2013

Graphene

Innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays May 22nd, 2013

Chip Technology

Researchers Stitch Defects into the World’s Thinnest Semiconductor May 22nd, 2013

Whirlpools on the Nanoscale Could Multiply Magnetic Memory: At the Advanced Light Source, Berkeley Lab scientists join an international team to control spin orientation in magnetic nanodisks May 22nd, 2013

Imec and GLOBALFOUNDRIES collaborate to advance high-density memory technology: STT-MRAM offers enhanced performance and scalability for embedded and standalone applications May 21st, 2013

Penn engineers' nanoantennas improve infrared sensing May 20th, 2013

Discoveries

How do cold ions slide May 24th, 2013

Gold nanocrystal vibration captured on billion-frames-per-second film May 23rd, 2013

Whirlpools on the Nanoscale Could Multiply Magnetic Memory: At the Advanced Light Source, Berkeley Lab scientists join an international team to control spin orientation in magnetic nanodisks May 22nd, 2013

Bacterial spare parts filter antibiotic residue from groundwater May 22nd, 2013

Announcements

How do cold ions slide May 24th, 2013

Heinrich Rohrer dies at 79; a father of nanotechnology: With IBM colleague Gerd Binnig, Rohrer invented the scanning tunneling microscope, which can show individual atoms on a surface and move them around May 23rd, 2013

Gold nanocrystal vibration captured on billion-frames-per-second film May 23rd, 2013

Glowing Plant Releases Maker Kit, Enabling Anyone to Make a Glowing Plant at Home: Glowing Plant seeks funds via crowdfunding and raises almost $400,000 May 23rd, 2013

Grants/Awards/Scholarships/Gifts/Contests/Honors/Records

Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013

Add boron for better batteries: Rice University theorists say graphene-boron mix shows promise for lithium-ion batteries May 17th, 2013

Nanotechnology Pioneer Named 'Entrepreneur of the Year': Royal Society of Chemistry honors Chad Mirkin for commercializing innovations May 10th, 2013

International Space Development Conference Highlights - Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Former President of India - Winner of the 2013 Wernher von Braun Memorial Award May 8th, 2013

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE





  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoTech-Transfer
University Technology Transfer & Patents
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More












ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project








abbigliamento uomo
Computer Accessories
© Copyright 1999-2013 7th Wave, Inc. All Rights Reserved PRIVACY POLICY :: CONTACT US :: STATS :: SITE MAP :: ADVERTISE