How good it feels when we get multiple functions from a single thing? Obviously great!, same is with the most trending material Graphene, its importance lies in fact that it can function as conductor, semiconductor as well as insulator. Graphene is the allotrope of carbon like Fullerence and Graphite. This is thinnest material you might have seen when you draw with pencil. Graphene is composed of hexagonal lattice of carbon which resemble honeycomb structure.
Properties of Graphene:
- With incredible flexibility its 200 times stronger than steel
- Its ultra thin, transparent yet immensely tough
- At room temperature, it conducts electricity much faster and 250 times faster than silicon
- Graphene is one atom thick layer of graphite.
Major Application Area:
- Biological Engineering
- Optical Electronics
- Thermal Application
- Energy Storage
- Coatings, sensors, electronics and more
Challenges:
The issue with Graphene is, it has no band gap, which is important for switching. High quality Graphene is a very good conductor, with no band gap that means it cannot be switched off. In order to replace Silicon with Graphene, this challenge has to be met and it’s not far away when semiconductor will shift from silicon to Graphene.
