Graphene CVD sheets - updates and market status - Page 6

AIXTRON recently showcased two of its systems, which enable cost effective graphene production for a myriad of applications such as consumer electronics, sensors and photonic applications.

AIXTRON's new 'Neutron' roll to roll system for the production of graphene. Credit: AIXTRON

Graphene Flagship partner AIXTRON introduced results from two of its systems that enable the large-scale production of graphene through chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The Neutron is a roll-to-roll system capable of depositing large areas of graphene on metal foils under ambient conditions; and the CCS 2D system enables wafer-scale production of graphene on insulating wafers, a breakthrough that could speed up the development of new graphene electronics.

Researchers from Myongji University, Sungkyunkwan University, Gachon University and Korea Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea, along with U.S-based Villanova University, have developed a new device concept for bacterial sensing by Raman spectroscopy and voltage-gated monolayer graphene.

Synthesis of the monolayer graphene was done by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a Cu foil, which was eventually channelized onto a SiO₂ /Si substrate. Modification of Raman spectra is examined in the study in order to develop ultra-sensitive biosensing techniques for the detection, identification, differentiation and classification of bacteria associated with infectious diseases.

China-based Wuxi Graphene Film (owned by Grahope New Materials and The Sixth Element) produces patterned CVD graphene films for heating applications. These films are adopted by several Chinese device makers for different heating products - for example Grahope's graphene eye mask we recently reviewed at Graphene-Info.

The team at Wuxi Graphene Film was kind enough to send a few such films for us to review. These specific films are designed for one of WGF's customers and include a proprietary design which includes a USB connector for easy setup - you just plug these into a USB power source and the films heat up very quickly.

University of Cambridge spin-out company, Paragraf, recently announced that it started producing graphene at up to eight inches (20cm) in diameter, large enough for commercial electronic devices.

Paragraf is producing graphene ‘wafers’ and graphene-based electronic devices, which could be used in transistors, where graphene-based chips could deliver speeds more than ten times faster than silicon chips; and in chemical and electrical sensors, where graphene could increase sensitivity by a factor of more than 30. The company’s first device will reportedly be available in the next few months.

Shenzhen-based Grahope New Materials (GNM) has acquired 70% of CVD graphene maker Wuxi Graphene Film from The Sixth Element Materials (who now holds 30% of WGF).

GNM focuses on the R&D of graphene heating technology and the development of graphene products in general. GNM adopts WGF's CVD graphene films in its products - for example in the graphene eye mask we recently reviewed at Graphene-Info.

Graphene and 2D materials producer Grolltex has announced the completion of its recent capacity expansion and released production for 30,000 eight-inch wafer equivalents per year at its CVD monolayer fabrication facility in San Diego, California.

This is the only commercial CVD monolayer graphene production facility in California and in fact it is the largest capacity plant of its kind in the U.S., said CEO, Jeff Draa. Demand for our electronics grade graphene has never been better. Our production lines are capable of producing single layer graphene or single layer hexagonal Boron Nitride.

China's Evergrande Real Estate group has invested CNY144 million ($21.4 million USD) in Chongqing Graphene Technology, a CVD graphene producer. Evergrande now holds a 35% stake in Chongqing Graphene Tech (which means that company is valued at $61 million).

Chongqing Graphene Technology produces CVD graphene sheets and the company also offers touch panels and other films that use graphene sheets. The company says its production line can produce up to 3 million sheets per year (but we do not know the size of each sheet).

Researchers from Italy's ISOF-CNR, University of Naples "Federico II" and Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia have developed new organic n-type FET transistors (OFETs) based on CVD graphene sheets. The researchers say that the new process and materials they used can enable flexible, transparent and short-channel OFETs - which could be used in the future for OLED or OLET (organic light emitting transistor) displays.

To create the new transistors, the researchers used thermally evaporated thin-films of PDIF-CN2 (a perylene diimide derivative) as the the organic semiconductor for the active channel of the transistor with the single-layer CVD graphene (grown at Italy's IIT institute) as the electrode material. The final device architectures have been fabricated via Electron-Beam-Lithography (EBL) and Reactive Ion Etching (RIE).

This is a sponsored post by Graphenea

Graphenea recently launched a graphene foundry service GFAB. The company will manufacture custom circuit designs on graphene wafers up to 6. The service is aimed at enabling fast device prototyping and accelerating development of new applications, lowering entry barriers to graphene-based solutions.

Graphenea states that in view of the market demands, the offer now includes small batch sizes (1-3 wafers). Lithography masks can be manufactured by Graphenea or provided by the customer. GFAB includes graphene growth, transfer on 4 and 6 wafers, metal contact deposition and lift-off, and graphene lithography with etching.

This is a guest post by Guillaume Chansin

Graphene is probably the most hyped material of the past decade, but so far commercial applications have been limited. Graphene is mostly used as an additive inside composites and plastics to enhance their thermal or structural properties. In the most recent high profile case, Huawei announced the integration of a passive graphene cooling film to improve heat management inside one of their smartphones. While this is a useful use of graphene, it is a far cry from the disruptive electronics that were promised when the material was first isolated.

It is worth considering that both investments and patent filings in graphene peaked in 2015. Nearly four years later, we can expect to see some of these to start paying off with some product launches.