Bulk Resistivity vs. 1D resistivity
A recent literature survey revealed that various types of graphene growth are giving promising sheet resistances. I like to think in terms of resistivity (u-ohm-cm) just for easy comparison to other well-known materials. So here is a quick comparison:
- CVD Graphene - 30 u-ohm-cm
- Graphene by reducing graphene oxide- 15,000 u-ohm-cm
- Graphene on SiC- 5 u-oum-cm
- Flaked graphene- 5 u-ohm-cm
Options 1 and 3 look quite impressive for electrical conduction. But what is rarely discussed is the possible resistivity when the material is patterned into a 1D conductor (like a nanowire). It is quite possible that even with perfect patterning, the nature of the material/substrate system may cause a decrease in conductivity when the material is converted from a 2D system to a 1D system. When imperfect edges are added (expected for current manufacturing technology), this problem becomes even more severe…
Nano-economy
I decided to shift my blog from blogger to my own word-press powered site…
First Graphene MRSEC Workshop
This week marked the first Graphene MRSEC workshop at Georgia Tech. With over 25 presentations and as many posters by various researchers around the US working mostly on epitaxial graphene. Exciting new results were presented on recent advances in achieving high-quality graphene on SiC as well as some chemical approaches to pattern/produce graphene. Check out the MRSEC link to the right for a list of the MRSEC PIs and their research areas.
Nano for the masses
First came the iPod nano, and now the Tata Nano…priced under $2,000 (without air-conditioning), it has been garnering international acclaim even before its release. Initial bookings look healthy, and test-drive reports are very impressive; considering that it is powered by a 640 cc engine (about that of a Suzuki SV 650S motorcycle), the seating space seems ample, and so is the pick-up. With a mileage of more than 55 mpg, it is definitely eco-friencly. It will be a while before the Nano is released in Europe and even longer before it is released in America. It will be exciting to see the masses embrace the Nano - though not quite the nano I’d hoped for (nanotech).