UK researchers working towards graphene standardization

In November 2014, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Manchester signed an agreement to collaborate in realizing graphene's potential and work on the development of graphene metrology, characterization and standards.

Now, the NPL researchers are working on characterization techniques that can be used in real time on large amounts of graphene. One such technique is microwave measurement, where a graphene film is placed in a microwave field and disturbs the field. The extent of the disturbance indicates the sheet resistance and conductivity.

All of the currently tested methods are done in lab conditions, and integrating them in production environments should be challenging, due to higher levels of noise, interference and environmental variations.