What is graphene and why did George Osborne include it in the 2014 budget?
The chancellor has announced Government funding for a new innovation centre to develop graphene. We take a look at the amazing British-made super-material.
The Nobel committee mused on the immense potential of graphene by hypothesising a graphene hammock. The hammock, measuring 1m square would weight 0.77mg. This lightweight hammock would be invisible as graphene is almost totally transparent and when hung between two trees it would be able to support 4kg. That’s about the weight of a cat. At just 0.77mg, the hammock itself weighs the same as one of the cat’s whiskers.
Where will graphene be used?
Graphene has amazing potential for technology. Computer chips rely on tiny transistors to control the flow of electricity around their circuits. The more powerful the chip, the more transistors it needs. With chips getting smaller and faster all the time we are approaching the limit of what current materials are capable of. Silicon, it would seem, has had its day. The fundamental limit of silicon based circuitry is 7 nanometres and that limit is fast approaching. As graphene is only one atom thick, it could herald amazing leaps forward in computing power.
Incredible progress has already been made with Samsung, IBM and Intel all investing heavily in graphene research. IBM has created a 100GHz transistor that is almost three times faster than the quickest comparable silicon device. Samsung, meanwhile, has been experimenting with flexible, unbreakable graphene touchscreens for phones and tablets.
Why can’t graphene be used now?
A number of hurdles still have to be overcome before graphene leaves the lab and crops up in our computers. Graphene production is still prohibitively expensive and the process will need to become more reliable before it can be mass produced.
There is also a long list of technical issues. Transistors made of graphene, for example, can’t be turned on and off. With no energy difference between graphene in its conductive and nonconductive states, it is necessary to create ‘gates’ to turn it on and off. By comparison, silicon can be manipulated in this way, making it ideal for use in chips.
While graphene is showing huge potential further investment and research is needed. In Manchester the National Graphene Institute, a new 7,600 square metre facility costing £61m, is due to be completed early next year, with a similar £24m centre being setup in Cambridge.
George Osborne’s decision to include graphene in his 2014 budget is a clear sign that the Government expects big things from the super-material. Less than ten years after it was revealed to the world, graphene could soon be big news once again.