University of Manchester - Page 22

Scientists from the University of Manchester, including Nobel prize-winner Professor Andre Geim constructed a multi-layer graphene structure made by placing individual sheets one on top of the other. This 'cake' like structure behaves like a nanoscale electric transformer - which could be used to make new electronic transistors and photonic detector devices.

In the new device, electrons moving in one metallic layer pull electrons in the second metallic layer by using their local electric fields. The layers are only separated by a tiny (few interatomic) distance - much shorter than anything done before. To achieve this structure they used just four atomic layers of boron nitride to serve as an electric insulator.

Nobel Prize-winner (together with Andre Geim) Professor and Kostya Novoselov Professor Volodya Falko from Lancaster University have released a graphene roadmap. The roadmap discusses the different possible applications for graphene and also the different ways to produce the material.

The authors says that the first key application is conductors for touch-screen displays (replacing ITO), where they expect can be commercialized within 3-5 years. They also see rollable e-paper displays soon - prototypes could appear in 2015. Come 2020, we can expect graphene-based devices such as photo-detectors, wireless communications and THz generators. Replacing silicon and delivering anti-cancer drugs are interesting applications too - but these will only be possible at around 2030.

Last month we reported that the University of Manchester has started the formal tender process to choose a contractor to build the national Graphene Institute (NGI). This project's total cost is £61 million. The UK government approved a budget of £38 million, and today it is reported that the University is bidding for £28 million from the EU for the NGI (which strangely means that the total funds available will be £66 million.

The University has submitted an application to the European Regional Development Fund. The decision is due in December, and if approved the NGI will begin operation by March 2015.

The University of Manchester have installed one of the world's most powerful high-res microscopes, the FEI Titan G2 80-200 scanning transmission electron microscope (S/TEM). The Titan G2 80-200 S/TEM will enable researchers to study the structure and elemental composition of materials at the atomic level.

This new microscope may also help the University's graphene research - the Titan microscope's high-angle, dark-field imaging capability can potentially enable the discovery of new information about the electrical properties of graphene.

Back in February the UK government announced a £50 million graphene drive, which included the £38 million national graphene institute at the University of Manchester, which will become a world-class shared facility for graphene research and commercialization activities. This plan is still underway and the University has started the formal tender process to choose a contractor to build the NGI.

The National Graphene Center plan

The project completion is scheduled to begin in Q1 2013 and end by Q3 2014.

Researchers from Manchester University have used a new side-view imaging method to individually visualize graphene sheets in a layered insulated stack of sheets. They found out that each graphene layer in such a structure is perfectly aligned, even with 10 layers. This was a surprise as they expected the graphene to be distorted.

This means that stacking graphene sheets does not degrade their properties. This means that you can stack graphene to create 3D chips - which will have a massive improvement in processing speed or storage capacity compared to a 2D chip.

Konstantin Novoselov from the University of Manchester discovered that if you make a hold in a graphene sheet it automatically "heals" itself back together. This was discovered when the researchers used an electron beam to etched tiny holes in graphene, adding a few palladium or nickel atoms to catalyze the dissociation of carbon bonds and bind to the edges of the holes making them stable.

When they tried adding carbon atoms, they found that these displaced the metal atoms and closed the holes together. The structure of the repaired area depends on carbon structure: hydrocarbon for example contains non-hexagonal defects while pure carbon results in perfect graphene repairs.

The University of Manchester launched a £1M Graphene and innovative materials technology development funding call for a proof-of-principle and feasibility work. They will also be able to supply follow-on funding for successful projects.

This is aimed towards colleagues across the campus who are interested in technology transfer and keen to take the next steps beyond their research results. More details will be issued in September 2012.

Remember the UK government's plan to invest £50 million in graphene? We got some new details today about that plan. It turns out that the UK plans to build a graphene hub that will lead graphene research into a commercial success. The £50 million will be used in four initiatives, detailed below.

The National Graphene Center plan

£38 million will go into building a national graphene institute, to be built by the University of Manchester (which will provide an extra £7 million). This will be a world-class shared facility for graphene research and commercialization activities. The institute will be used by both researchers and business.

Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, the two Graphene researchers from Manchester University have been granted knighthoods. The two researchers won the 2010 Nobel physics prize for their groundbreaking graphene experiments.