Electrical signals transmitted at high frequencies lose none of their energy when passed through the 'wonder material' graphene, a study led by Plymouth University has shown. Discovered in 2004, graphene - which measures just an atom in thickness and is around 100 times stronger than steel - has been identified as having a range of potential uses across the engineering and health
sectors1.
Now research has shown graphene out-performs any other known material, including superconductors, when carrying high-frequency electrical signals compared to direct current,
essentially2 transmitting signals without any additional energy loss.
And since graphene lacks band-gap, which allows electrical signals to be switched on and off using
silicon3 in digital electronics, academics say it seems most applicable for applications ranging from next generation high-speed
transistors4 and amplifiers for mobile phones and satellite communications to ultra-sensitive biological
sensors5.
The study was led by Dr Shakil Awan, a Lecturer in the School of
Computing6, Electronics and Mathematics at Plymouth University, alongside colleagues from Cambridge and Tohoku (Japan) Universities and Nokia Technologies (Cambridge, UK).
Dr Shakil Awan, Lecturer in the School of Computing, Electronics and Mathematics and the principal
investigator7 in the study, said: "An accurate understanding of the electromagnetic properties of graphene over a broad range of frequencies (from direct current to over 10 GHz) has been an important quest for several groups around the world. Initial measurements gave conflicting results with theory because graphene's intrinsic properties are often masked by much larger
interfering8 signals from the supporting substrate,
metallic9 contacts and measurement probes. Our results for the first time not only confirm the theoretical properties of graphene but also open up many new applications of the material in high-speed electronics and bio-sensing."