Graphene sensors: introduction and market status - Page 21

Scientists at the University of Oregon have designed a new method of measuring light—with the help of microscopic drums to hear light. The technology, known as a graphene nanomechanical bolometer, detects almost every color of light at high temperatures and high speeds.

This tool is the fastest and most sensitive in its class, said Benjamín Alemán, a professor of physics and a member of the University of Oregon’s Center for Optical, Molecular, and Quantum Science and an associate of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.

A research team led by Graphene Flagship partners Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy, and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, together with a team at the University of Modena, Italy, has created a new qualitative graphene-based sensor for morphine, that could be used by police to detect opiate abuse using suspects' urine samples.

Morphine is the main metabolite of heroin. The new sensor provides a fast-acting 'rough test' that yields a positive response if morphine concentration in urine exceeds a certain threshold. The sensor could be used by police forces during criminal investigations and roadside stops, in a similar way to how breathalyzers are used to test alcohol levels in suspected drunk drivers.

Tetra Pak has joined the Graphene Flagship project as the exclusive representative from the packaging industry to explore possible future applications of graphene in food and beverage manufacturing.

As part of the programme, packaging material innovations are being examined to see how graphene could offer coatings to reduce carbon footprint in the packaging supply chain.

Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT), a private, coeducational research university located in New Jersey, United States, has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Bonbouton for the right to use and further develop a graphene sensing system that detects early signs of foot ulcers before they form so people living with diabetes can access preventative healthcare and confidently manage their health.

The smart insole can be inserted into a sneaker or dress shoe to passively monitor the foot health of a person living with diabetes. The data are then sent to a companion app which can be accessed by the patient and shared with their healthcare provider, who can determine if intervention or treatment is needed.

BioMed X has announced the completion of its first research collaboration project with Roche Diagnostics in the field of nanomaterial-based biosensors for near patient testing. BioMed X successfully achieved the proof of principle for a new sensor platform allowing the analysis of several different parameters from blood samples with one single device.

The project was initiated in 2015 as a call for application using BioMed X’s proprietary crowdsourcing platform for project proposals. As a result of an international innovation challenge, a team of early-career researchers from five different countries worked in Germany on the design of a field effect transistor-based multimodal sensing platform for proteins, blood gases and electrolytes, metabolites and enzymes with a single-use disposable material for point-of-care diagnostics.

ICFO researchers have recently demonstrated a new class of graphene-based flexible and transparent wearable devices that are conformable to the skin and can provide continuous and accurate measurements of multiple human vital signs.

These devices can measure heart rate, respiration rate and blood pulse oxygenation, as well as exposure to UV radiation from the sun. While the device measures the different parameters, the read-out is visualized and stored on a mobile phone interface connected to the wearable via Bluetooth. In addition, the device can operate battery-free since it is charged wirelessly through the phone.

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology have demonstrated a graphene-based detector with the potential to revolutionize the sensors used in next-generation space telescopes. Beyond superconductors, there are few materials that can meet the requirements for making ultra-sensitive and fast terahertz (THz) detectors for astronomy. Chalmers researchers have shown that engineered graphene adds a new material paradigm for THz heterodyne detection.

"Graphene might be the only known material that remains an excellent conductor of electricity/heat even when having, effectively, no electrons. We have reached a near zero-electron scenario in graphene, also called Dirac point, by assembling electron-accepting molecules on its surface. Our results show that graphene is an exceptionally good material for THz heterodyne detection when doped to the Dirac point," says Samuel Lara-Avila, assistant professor at the Quantum Device Physics Laboratory and lead author of the paper.

Australia-based graphene and data analytics company, Imagine Intelligent Materials, has developed an integrated sensing solution that uses graphene coatings and edge-based signal processing devices to collect data from objects with large surface areas.

Proven over areas as large as 4,000 square meters, the system gathers data such as pressure, moisture, stress and temperature and is aimed at industrial and consumer applications in the IoT market.

Researchers from Sweden and Germany (from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, RWTH Aachen University and Research Institute AMO GmbH, Aachen) have developed the smallest graphene-based accelerometer ever reported. This achievement has been referred to as "a breakthrough for body sensor and navigation technologies".

For the past few decades microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have been the basis for research and innovations. Now there is a move to the next level nano-electromechanical systems, or NEMS. Xuge Fan, a researcher in the Department for Micro and Nanosystems at KTH, says that the unique material properties of graphene have enabled them to build these ultra-small accelerometers. Based on the surveys and comparisons we have made, we can say that this is the smallest reported electromechanical accelerometer in the world, Fan said.

Chinese researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed a new type of graphene porous fibers decorated with nanoballs and high gauge factors to improve the sensitivity of wearable sensors. The team produced a structural design to reduce the contact area between the graphene and polymer to enhance sensitivity.

The team explained that wearable textile strain sensors, perceiving and responding to human stimuli, are essential parts of wearable electronics. But subtle strains detection on human bodies is still limited to low sensitivity within current sensors.