Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

In the past two years, graphene electronics has emerged as one of the hottest areas of study in nanotechnology.  Graphene is a single atomic layer of carbon atoms; many stacked layers of graphene make up graphite.  Nanotubes are graphene sheets rolled up, and indeed, graphene holds much of the same promise for technology as nanotubes do (extreme strength and high electrical conductivity, for example).   But two-dimensional graphene is a much more flexible platform than one-dimensional nanotubes for building electronic circuits or nanostructured materials. The scientific insights that will come from the study of graphene are at least as remarkable as the technological advances.  The unique quantum mechanical properties of graphene enable researchers to test theoretical predictions that were unimaginable before.  Because graphene traps electrons in a single atomic layer, much smaller devices can in principle be created in graphene compared with semiconductors or metals.  The quantum properties of these nanostructures will be much clearer, and potentially more useful for technological purposes, than in larger nanostructures made from conventional materials.