Graphene-Info newsletter

Graphenea launches new GFET products

Graphenea launched sales of GFETs (graphene field effect transistors) aimed at lowering barriers to adoption of graphene, especially the sensors market. The new devices from Graphenea have a specified carrier mobility above 1000 cm2/V*s, residual charge carrier density below 2 x 1012cm-2, Dirac point between 10 and 40V, and a yield higher than 75%. The GFETs are made on the standard Si/SiO2 substrate, with Ni/Al metal contacts.

Graphenea started by launching two standard GFET-for-sensing configurations called GFET-S10 and GFET-S20, each including 36 individual GFETs on a one square centimeter die, but differing in device layout. The GFET-S10 has devices distributed evenly over the die and the GFET-S20 has the devices concentrated in the center of the die with electrical pads located at the die edge. The GFET-S20 devices all have a 2-probe geometry for probing electrical properties during sensing, whereas the GFET-S10 houses 30 devices with the Hall bar geometry and 6 with 2-probe geometry. The Hall bars enable magnetic field sensing, apart from applications in graphene device research, bioelectronics, biosensing, chemical sensing, and photodetectors that the 2-probe geometry also allows.

In the coming months, Graphenea plans to launch a custom design service for the same high-quality GFETs in tailored arrangements.

New graphene industrial park in China nears completion

The Datong Graphene and Green Technology Industrial Park is reportedly nearing completion. With investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion USD), it includes a graphene production base, a research and development center, an academic communication and reception center and related companies. The park, built by Datong Moxi Technology, covers an area of 200 hectares and is located in Datong Economic Development Zone. The industrial park is eventually expected to provide jobs for around 7,000 people.

The next stage of construction will include the installation and testing of production lines. Once completed, annual sales at the park are expected to exceed 10 billion yuan with profits and taxes accounting for 20%.

Signet announces Hycarb acquisition

Signet International Holdings announced a Letter of Intent for the acquisition of HyCarb, a Florida-based company operating in association with the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida to develop graphene-enhanced batteries.

HyCarb reported that it is currently completing the prototype of its first phase, the "HyCarb Coin Cell Battery". The battery is expected to be ready for manufacturing within the next year. "Our batteries have five times the life of the regular Lithium Ion Batteries," says Ms. Sigrid Cottrell, CEO of HyCarb. "We can deliver a true eco-battery that is a "greener," safer battery whose unique attributes include being quicker to charge with a much greater electric storage capacity. It is less toxic, up to 99% recyclable and has no thermal runaway, so it will not catch fire."

Talking graphene standardization with NPL's Andrew J. Pollard

In November 2017, after years of work, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released its first graphene standard, the ISO/TS 80004-13:2017. The effort was led by the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL).

We recently discussed this interesting and important development with the NPL's Dr. Andrew J. Pollard. Dr. Pollard leads the NPL Surface and Nanoanalysis Group's research into the structural and chemical characterization of graphene and related 2D materials, and is also a member of the ISO working group 'Measurement and Characterization' within the 'Nanotechnologies' Technical Committee (TC229), and a UK nominated expert for the international graphene standards.

A novel graphene-based method to view proteins may help fight neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers attempt to learn more about diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s by focusing on protein filaments that form fibrous clusters called amyloids in the brain. Until now, the best tools for studying them have generated limited views, largely because the strands are complex and tiny, just a few nanometers thick.

Now, an international research team has come up with a new method to potentially reveal the structure of individual amyloid fibrils with powerful beams of X-ray laser light. In experiments conducted at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the scientists placed up to 50 fibrils at a time on a layer of graphene and hit them with bursts of X-ray laser light. The graphene, it turned out, was almost transparent to the X-rays, and this allowed them to probe the structures of the delicate fibrils without picking up significant extraneous signals from the graphene layer in individual snapshots. While the team did not uncover the complete fibril structure, they said the innovative method opens up a promising path for amyloid studies using X-ray free-electron lasers, or XFELs, such as LCLS.

Don’t miss Graphene-Info’s spotlight article on an Israel-based startup called Seevix Material Sciences that develops an exciting artificial dragline spidersilk material.

Versarien will collaborate with an undisclosed FTSE-listed EU manufacturer and supplier of co‑manufactured and private label consumer products for the household and personal care markets on a number of projects involving the incorporation of Versarien's proprietary Nanene few layer graphene nano-platelets into polymer structures.

Scientists at the Academy of Sciences of China have created a new material that can purify contaminated water by means of light and a material made of networks of graphene and titanium dioxide.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany and the University of Stuttgart, Germany have developed a novel silver nanoparticle-graphene hybrid photodetector device with an increased ability to detect Ultraviolet light.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), in collaboration with scientists from IIT Kanpur and the University of Campinas, Brazil, have developed a graphene-based nanocomposite material that can selectively convert environmental carbon monoxide into less toxic carbon dioxide.

Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in Korea, in cooperation with KAIST, have announced the development of a graphene-based metamaterial device that can control the speed of light.

Dotz Nano has secured a “firm purchase order” for 10 kilograms of its graphene quantum dots product called Validotz.

A joint venture between Graphenest and Sipre (a Portuguese kayak manufacturer) produced what is hailed as the lightest surfski kayak in the world. It is 5.75 meters long and weighs around 9.3 kg.

China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the rocket development arm of the Chinese space program, recently announced the design of a graphene composite film suitable for use in light-propelled spacecraft.

Directa Plus has announced it has entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement with Arvind Limited, India’s leading textile-to-retail-and-brands conglomerate, to infuse Directa Plus’ G+ graphene-based products into their denim fabrics.

Researchers at Hanyang University in South Korea have taken a significant step towards human-like touch sensing with a graphene-based device that can feel and distinguish different surface textures.