Researchers at the University of Houston have formulated a technique to develop single-crystal arrays of graphene that opens avenues for the replacement of silicon in high-performance electronics and computers. The research details are a cover page feature in the Nature Materials journal published in June.
Graphene was initially created in 2004. Single-crystal arrays of graphene can be used to develop a new range of high-speed integrated circuits and transistors that consume low power when compared to silicon. This is because graphene conducts electricity with minimal resistance or generation of heat.
The industry was in need of a defect-free approach to produce single crystals of graphene on a large scale and the technology reported in Nature Materials is a step in the right direction.
Qingkai Yu, the first author of the paper stated that it is possible to create an ordered array of millions of single crystals of graphene with seeds. Yu designed the growth process of single-crystals at the UH Center for Advanced Materials(CAM). CAM's deputy director, Steven Pei, and Yu collaborated to create the seeded-growth technique for graphene and received a patent for the same in 2010.
Using the chemical vapor deposition process, single-crystal graphene arrays were grown atop a copper foil, which was placed inside a compartment filled with methane gas. Currently, this standard process is widely used for the creation of large graphene films and finds applications in e-books, touch-screen displays, and solar cells. Researchers were able to monitor the growth of the ordered arrays. They were also able to demonstrate the electronic characteristics of each grain boundary.
Source: http://www.uh.edu/