Super conductor Graphene brings the new wave to energy efficient electronics development

Graphene, one of the atomic forms of carbon, has been widely used to increase flexibility, transparency, and conductivity of electronics application and has begun to reach other application areas.

Graphene in electronics also increases its efficiency.

Graphene has high demand on the market for its excellent conductivity, tensile strength, transparency, and thermal stability, according to Marketwatch.

In electronics, the material that require the use of graphene are semiconductors such as germanium.

Graphene is also used as the preference substitute for silicon and other materials by manufacturers and suppliers globally. As the silicon's substitute, the graphene must be very smooth, with a specific width and smooth edges.

According to Forbes, commonly graphene is produced by cutting graphite blocks into layers using fine diamond blades. The layers are then isolated to obtain graphene.

But Engineers at the University of Wisconsin have found a more efficient way to produce graphene.

The graphene is produced directly onto semiconductor geranium using Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) method. This means that reactant involved in the reaction is in a gaseous state.

It is only needed one reactant to produce graphene with CVD method: methane. The methane gas is introduced to germanium layer in the reaction chamber under the specific temperature and pressure.

The methane sticks to the surface of germanium and decomposes into other organic molecules which will react with one another and produce a layer of graphene on germanium's surface.

The researcher team also noticed that the smooth edges graphene can be produced using CVD method by reducing the amount of methane.

Thus, the method is perfect for desired use of graphene in electronics.

Meanwhile, the scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed the use of graphene in lithium-oxygen battery, according to SemiEngineering.

They demonstrate a lithium-oxygen battery, with the electrode made from highly porous graphene. The result is the battery has very high energy density and is more than 90% efficient. The battery also can be recharged for more than 2,000 times.

The graphene usage in the battery also increases its capacity.

Graphene is also used in developing new optical detector. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), working with colleagues from the USA and Germany, have developed a new optical detector made from graphene which reacts very rapidly to incident light of all different wavelengths and works at room temperature.

For its wide use in manufacturing and science research, graphene market is rising from time to time.

According to Whatech, the global graphene market is expected to reach $278.47 million by 2020 with a growth rate of 42.8% from 2015 to 2020. The fastest growth rate is projected in Asia Pacific market.