Molybdenum - Page 2

Scientists at the University of Sussex have developed a technique for making tiny microchips from graphene and other 2D materials, using a form of ‘nano-origami’.

By creating distortions in the structure of the graphene, the researchers were able to make the nanomaterial behave like a transistor. We’re mechanically creating kinks in a layer of graphene, says Professor Alan Dalton of the School of Mathematical and Physics Sciences at the University of Sussex. It’s a bit like nano-origami. Using these nanomaterials will make our computer chips smaller and faster. It is absolutely critical that this happens as computer manufacturers are now at the limit of what they can do with traditional semiconducting technology. Ultimately, this will make our computers and phones thousands of times faster in the future.

Researchers affiliated with the Graphene Flagship from RWTH Aachen University, Universität der Bundeswehr München and AMO in Germany, KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and with Protemics have reported a new method to integrate graphene and 2D materials into semiconductor manufacturing lines, a milestone for the recently launched 2D-EPL project.

Image from Nature Communications

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have a huge potential for providing devices with much smaller size and extended functionalities with respect to what can be achieved with today's silicon technologies. But to exploit this potential, it is vital to be able to integrate 2D materials into semiconductor manufacturing lines - a notoriously difficult step. This new technique could be a step in the right direction as far as solving this problem is concerned.

Researchers at Penn State, Northeastern University and five universities in China have developed and tested a stretchable, wearable gas sensor for environmental sensing.

The sensor combines a newly developed laser-induced graphene foam material with a unique form of molybdenum disulfide and reduced-graphene oxide nanocomposites. The researchers were interested in seeing how different morphologies of the gas-sensitive nanocomposites affect the sensitivity of the material to detecting nitrogen dioxide molecules at very low concentration. To change the morphology, they packed a container with very finely ground salt crystals.

Physicists at the University of Basel have created a novel structure with the ability to absorb almost all light of a selected wavelength, by layering different 2D materials: graphene and molybdenum disulfide.

Schematic illustration of the electron-hole pairs (electron: pink, hole: blue), which are formed by absorption of light in the two-layer molybdenum disulfide layer. Credit: Nadine Leisgang and Lorenzo Ceccarelli, Department of Physics, University of Basel

The new structure's particular properties reportedly make it a candidate for applications in optical components or as a source of individual photons, which play a key role in quantum research.

Researchers at TU Wien have designed a nano-structuring method, with which certain layers of a material can be perforated with extreme precision while others are left completely untouched, even though the projectile penetrates all layers.

The projectile penetrates all layers, but only in the top layer, a big hole is created. The graphene below remains intact. Credit: TU Wien

This is made possible with the help of highly charged ions - they can be used to selectively process the surfaces of novel 2D material systems, for example to anchor certain metals on them, which can then serve as catalysts.

UK-based planarTECH has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs, as part of Graphene-Info's Graphene Crowdfunding Arena. planarTECH aims to expand its current business and also initiate new graphene endeavors. Investors are now able to participate in this financing round.

Here's our interview with planarTECH's co-founder and CEO, J. Patrick Frantz - who explains the company's technology, business and future plans.

UK-based planarTECH is launching an equity crowdfunding campaign at on Seedrs, as part of Graphene-Info's Graphene Crowdfunding Arena. planarTECH aims to expand its current business and also initiate new graphene endeavors.

planarTECH, founded in 2014, supplies CVD equipment for the production of high quality graphene sheets, as well as other 2D materials. The company was focused on research institutes, and already sold over 65 systems with a customer list that includes Manchester University, the University of Cambridge, Stanford University and the National University of Singapore.

Researchers from the Graphene Flagship have developed hybrids of graphene and molybdenum disulphide quantum dots to stabilize perovskite solar cells (PSCs). PSCs are a novel type of solar cells which are efficient, relatively easy to produce, made with cheaper materials and, due to their flexibility, can be used in locations where traditional silicon solar cells cannot be placed.

A collaboration between the Graphene Flagship Partners Istituto Italiano di Technologia, University of Rome Tor Vergata, and BeDimensional resulted in a novel approach based on graphene and related materials to stabilize PSCs, thus addressing the stability issue of PSCs, a major hurdle hindering their commercialization.

Graphene Flagship researchers produced graphene-based spintronics devices that utilize both electron charge and spin at room temperature. Demonstrating the spin’s feasibility for bridging distances of up to several micrometres, these results may open the door to new possibilities for integrating information-processing and storage in a single chip.

The Graphene Flagship program recognizes the potential of spintronics devices made from graphene-related materials. Researchers from different universities successfully showed that it is possible to manipulate graphene’s spin properties in a controlled manner at room temperature. These results inspire new directions in the development of spin-logic devices and quantum computing. With miniaturization a major driving force behind the electronics industry, graphene opens new possibilities for compacting spin-logic operations with magnetic memory elements in a single platform, notes Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) Research Professor Stephan Roche, who has been leading the Graphene Flagships Spintronics Work Package since its inception.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Seoul National University have successfully developed and tested an ultrathin artificial retina, based on graphene and molybdenum disulfide, that could reportedly improve on existing implantable visualization technology for the blind. The flexible device could someday restore sight to the millions of people with retinal diseases. And with a few modifications, the device could be used to track heart and brain activity.

"This is the first demonstration that you can use few-layer graphene and molybdenum disulfide to successfully fabricate an artificial retina," Nanshu Lu, Ph.D., says. "Although this research is still in its infancy, it is a very exciting starting point for the use of these materials to restore vision," she says, adding that this device could also be implanted elsewhere in the body to monitor heart and brain activities.