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Almost everything we encounter in the modern world relies on electronics to some extent.Since we first discovered how to use electricity to generate mechanical work, we’ve created devices large and small to technically improve our lives.From electric lights to smartphones, every device we develop consists of just a few simple components stitched together in various configurations.In fact, for over a century, we have relied on:
Our modern electronics revolution relies on these four types of components, plus – later – transistors, to bring us almost everything we use today.As we race to miniaturize electronic devices, monitor more and more aspects of our lives and reality, transmit more data with less power, and connect our devices to each other, we quickly come across these classics limits.Technology.But, in the early 2000s, five advancements all came together, and they have begun to transform our modern world.Here’s how it all went.
1.) Development of graphene.Of all the materials found in nature or created in the lab, diamond is no longer the hardest material.There are six harder, the hardest being graphene.In 2004, graphene, an atom-thick sheet of carbon locked together in a hexagonal crystal pattern, was accidentally isolated in the lab.Just six years after this advance, its discoverers Andrei Heim and Kostya Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.Not only is it the hardest material ever made, incredibly resilient to physical, chemical, and thermal stress, but it’s actually a perfect lattice of atoms.
Graphene also has fascinating conductive properties, meaning that if electronic devices, including transistors, could be made from graphene instead of silicon, they could potentially be smaller and faster than anything we have today.If graphene is mixed into plastic, it can be turned into a heat-resistant, stronger material that also conducts electricity.In addition, graphene is about 98% transparent to light, which means it is revolutionary for transparent touchscreens, light-emitting panels and even solar cells.As the Nobel Foundation put it 11 years ago, “perhaps we are on the verge of another miniaturization of electronics that will lead to computers becoming more efficient in the future.”
2.) Surface mount resistors.This is the oldest “new” technology and is probably familiar to anyone who has dissected a computer or cell phone.A surface mount resistor is a tiny rectangular object, usually made of ceramic, with conductive edges on both ends.The development of ceramics, which resist the flow of current without dissipating much power or heat, has made it possible to create resistors that are superior to the older traditional resistors used before: axial lead resistors.
These properties make it ideal for use in modern electronics, especially low-power and mobile devices.If you need a resistor, you can use one of these SMDs (surface mount devices) to reduce the size you need for the resistors, or to increase the power you can apply to them within the same size constraints.
3.) Supercapacitors.Capacitors are one of the oldest electronic technologies.They are based on a simple setup in which two conductive surfaces (plates, cylinders, spherical shells, etc.) are separated from each other by a small distance, and the two surfaces are able to maintain equal and opposite charges.When you try to pass current through the capacitor it charges and when you turn off the current or connect the two plates the capacitor discharges.Capacitors have a wide range of applications, including energy storage, a rapid burst of released energy, and piezoelectric electronics, where changes in device pressure generate electrical signals.
Of course, making multiple plates separated by tiny distances on a very, very small scale is not only challenging but fundamentally limited.Recent advances in materials—especially calcium copper titanate (CCTO)—can store large amounts of charge in tiny spaces: supercapacitors.These miniaturized devices can be charged and discharged multiple times before they wear out; charge and discharge faster; and store 100 times the energy per unit volume of older capacitors.They are a game-changing technology when it comes to miniaturizing electronics.
4.) Super inductors.As the last of the “Big Three,” the superinductor is the latest player to come out until 2018.An inductor is basically a coil with a current used with a magnetizable core.Inductors oppose changes in their internal magnetic field, which means if you try to let current flow through it, it resists for a while, then allows current to flow freely through it, and finally resists changes again when you turn the current off.Along with resistors and capacitors, they are the three basic elements of all circuits.But again, there’s a limit to how small they can get.
The problem is that the inductance value depends on the surface area of ​​the inductor, which is a dream killer in terms of miniaturization.But in addition to the classic magnetic inductance, there is also the concept of kinetic energy inductance: the inertia of the current-carrying particles themselves prevents changes in their motion.Just as ants in a line must “talk” to each other to change their speed, these current-carrying particles, like electrons, need to exert a force on each other to speed up or slow down.This resistance to change creates a sense of movement.Under the leadership of Kaustav Banerjee’s Nanoelectronics Research Laboratory, a kinetic energy inductor using graphene technology has now been developed: the highest inductance density material ever recorded.
5.) Put graphene in any device.Now let’s take stock.We have graphene.We have “super” versions of resistors, capacitors and inductors – miniaturized, robust, reliable and efficient.The final hurdle in the ultra-miniaturization revolution in electronics, at least in theory, is the ability to turn any device (made of almost any material) into an electronic device.To make this possible, all we need is the ability to embed graphene-based electronics into any type of material we want, including flexible materials.The fact that graphene has good fluidity, flexibility, strength, and conductivity, while being harmless to humans, makes it ideal for this purpose.
In the past few years, graphene and graphene devices have been fabricated in a way that has only been achieved through a handful of processes that are themselves fairly rigorous.You can oxidize plain old graphite, dissolve it in water, and make graphene by chemical vapor deposition.However, there are only a few substrates on which graphene can be deposited in this way.You can chemically reduce graphene oxide, but if you do, you’ll end up with poor quality graphene.You can also produce graphene by mechanical exfoliation, but this does not allow you to control the size or thickness of the graphene you produce.
This is where advances in laser-engraved graphene come in.There are two main ways to achieve this.One is to start with graphene oxide.Same as before: you take graphite and oxidize it, but instead of chemically reducing it, you reduce it with a laser.Unlike chemically reduced graphene oxide, it is a high-quality product that can be used in supercapacitors, electronic circuits, and memory cards, among others.
You can also use polyimide, a high-temperature plastic, and pattern graphene directly with a laser.The laser breaks chemical bonds in the polyimide network, and the carbon atoms thermally reorganize themselves to form thin, high-quality graphene sheets.Polyimide has shown a ton of potential applications, because if you can engrave graphene circuits on it, you can basically turn any shape of polyimide into wearable electronics.These, to name a few, include:
But perhaps most exciting—given the emergence, rise, and ubiquity of new discoveries of laser-engraved graphene—is on the horizon of what is currently possible.With laser-engraved graphene, you can harvest and store energy: an energy-controlling device.One of the most egregious examples of technology failing to advance is batteries.Today, we almost use dry cell chemistries to store electrical energy, a centuries-old technology.Prototypes of new storage devices, such as zinc-air batteries and solid-state flexible electrochemical capacitors, have been created.
With laser-engraved graphene, not only can we revolutionize the way we store energy, but we can also create wearable devices that convert mechanical energy into electricity: triboelectric nanogenerators.We can create remarkable organic photovoltaics that have the potential to revolutionize solar energy.We could also make flexible biofuel cells; the possibilities are huge.On the frontiers of collecting and storing energy, revolutions are all in the short term.
Furthermore, laser-engraved graphene should usher in an era of unprecedented sensors.This includes physical sensors, as physical changes (such as temperature or strain) cause changes in electrical properties such as resistance and impedance (which also include the contributions of capacitance and inductance).It also includes devices that detect changes in gas properties and humidity, and – when applied to the human body – physical changes in someone’s vital signs.For example, the idea of ​​a Star Trek-inspired tricorder could quickly become obsolete by simply attaching a vital signs monitoring patch that instantly alerts us to any worrisome changes in our bodies.
This line of thinking could also open up a whole new field: biosensors based on laser-engraved graphene technology.An artificial throat based on laser-engraved graphene could help monitor throat vibrations, identifying signal differences between coughing, buzzing, screaming, swallowing and nodding movements.Laser-engraved graphene also holds great potential if you want to create an artificial bioreceptor that can target specific molecules, design various wearable biosensors, or even help enable various telemedicine applications.
It wasn’t until 2004 that a method of producing graphene sheets, at least intentionally, was first developed.In the 17 years since, a series of parallel advancements has finally brought to the forefront the possibility of revolutionizing the way humans interact with electronics.Compared to all existing methods of producing and fabricating graphene-based devices, laser-engraved graphene enables simple, mass-producible, high-quality, and inexpensive graphene patterns in a variety of applications including skin electronics change.
In the near future, it is reasonable to expect advancements in the energy sector, including energy control, energy harvesting, and energy storage.Also in the near term are advances in sensors, including physical sensors, gas sensors, and even biosensors.The biggest revolution is likely to come from wearables, including devices for diagnostic telemedicine applications.To be sure, many challenges and obstacles remain.But these obstacles require incremental rather than revolutionary improvements.As connected devices and the Internet of Things continue to grow, the need for ultra-small electronics is greater than ever.With the latest advances in graphene technology, the future is already here in many ways.