News articles

Work Package 8, Flexible Electronics (WP8), is devoted to what the Graphene Flagship describes as the next ubiquitous platform for the electronics industry. Graphene – a thin, flexible, ultra-strong and highly conductive film – is an obvious choice for flexible electronics. This 2d material will enable a wide range of applications, in a way similar and complementary to silicon technology. Work package leader is Stefano Borini of Nokia Technologies in Cambridge, and deputy Sebastiano Ravesi of STMicroelectronics in Catania.

Work Package 4 (WP4), High Frequency Electronics, focuses on the development of graphene-based electronics technologies operating at gigahertz frequencies and above, capable of significantly outperforming state-of-the-art devices. Work Package leader is Daniel Neumaier of AMO GmbH in Aachen. Deputy leader is Herbert-Zirath from Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg. Here we highlight two WP4 achievements over the past year.

Graphene Flagship experts guide the development of graphene research and unfold the complexity of now and beyond.

Dr Kari Hjelt appointed new Head of Innovation to lead the coordination of the Graphene Flagship’s innovation processes, effective 18 January 2016.

Graphene Flagship researchers show how the 2d material graphene can improve the energy capacity, efficiency and stability of lithium-oxygen batteries.

Ultra-fast detection of light lies at the heart of optical communication systems nowadays. Driven by the internet of things and 5G, data communication bandwidth is growing exponentially, thus requiring even faster optical detectors that can be integrated into photonic circuits.

Graphene Flagship will take on board 13 partnering projects, as a result of a Joint Transnational Call, with a total budget of 9,9 million €.

Producing graphene in bulk is critical when it comes to the industrial exploitation of this exceptional two-dimensional material. To that end, Graphene Flagship researchers have developed a novel variant on the chemical vapour deposition process which yields high quality material in a scalable manner. This advance should significantly narrow the performance gap between synthetic and natural graphene.

Graphene Flagship researchers have developed an optical fibre laser that emits pulses with durations equivalent to just a few wavelengths of the light used. This fastest ever laser based on graphene will be ideal for use in ultrafast spectroscopy, and in surgical lasers that avoid heat damage to living tissue.

Researchers with Europe’s Graphene Flagship have demonstrated superconducting electric currents in the two-dimensional material graphene that bounce between sheet edges without scattering. This first direct observation of the ballistic mirroring of electron waves in a 2d system with supercurrents could lead to the use of graphene-based Josephson junctions in applications such as advanced digital logic circuits, ultrasensitive magnetometers and voltmeters.

Keynote presentations on the third day of Graphene Week 2015 offered an eclectic mix of fundamental science and practical chemical engineering. Here we report briefly on each of the talks, beginning with an introduction to optoelectronics in 2d semiconductors and heterostructures, and concluding with an outline of a highly promising ‘kitchen sink’ approach to graphene production.

Graphene Week 2015 was buzzing with activity throughout the University of Manchester venue, with more than 600 delegates presenting and discussing their work, networking and making plans for the future. Each morning of the conference was given over to plenary sessions, with keynote presentations from invited speakers. Here we report on the Tuesday plenary, which was devoted to the electronic properties of graphene and related layered materials.