SBIR Phase I: Carbide Bonded Graphene Coating for Enhanced Glass Molding

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目专注于一种新型的碳化物结合石墨烯涂层技术，通过真空辅助热剥离功能石墨烯纳米纸来修改硅晶片模具的表面。与硅片和其他涂层材料相比，石墨烯涂层显示出前所未有的性能组合，如更低的表面摩擦系数和优异的表面平整度，更高的硬度和耐磨性，更好的耐化学性和耐磨性，更低的热膨胀系数和更高的导热系数。使用这一新技术，石墨烯镀膜硅模能够在先进的玻璃成型中生产出高质量和高精度的微透镜和微透镜阵列。这类产品在目前的玻璃工业中很难生产。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是，硬质合金结合石墨烯涂层表现出独特的所需性能的组合，包括优异的机械和结合强度、高硬度、良好的电和热表面传导性、低表面摩擦力和优异的表面平整度、强大的耐化学腐蚀性和耐磨性、良好的细胞兼容性、易于通过无尘室制造技术形成微图案以及诱人的半导体和光电特性，从而为石墨烯的工程应用开辟了一条新的途径。微光学在消费电子、传感器、光通信、医疗、光整形和能源等众多领域有着巨大的应用。目前，大多数低成本的微光学产品都是基于塑料材料，这种材料通常用于低成本的消费电子产品。然而，塑料微光学具有反射率低、透光率低、对环境变化不稳定、硬度低等缺点，用低成本的精密玻璃微光学取代塑料微光学势在必行。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on a novel carbide-bonded graphene coating technology to modify the surface of silicon wafer based molds through vacuum-assisted thermal exfoliation of functional graphene nanopaper. The graphene coating exhibits a unique combination of unprecedented properties such as lower surface friction coefficient and superior surface smoothness, higher hardness and wear resistance, better chemical resistance and anti-abrasion, lower thermal expansion coefficient and higher thermal conductivity comparing to silicon wafers and other coating materials. Using this new technology, the graphene coated silicon molds are able to produce high quality and high precision microlens and microlens array in advanced glass molding. Such products are difficult to produce in the current glass industry.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is that carbide-bonded graphene coating exhibits a unique combination of desired properties including excellent mechanical and bonding strength, high hardness, good electrical and thermal surface conductivities, low surface friction and excellent surface smoothness, strong chemical corrosion resistance and anti-abrasion, good cytocompatibility, easy micropatterning by cleanroom fabrication techniques, and attractive semiconductive and optoelectronic characteristics, thus opens up a new avenue toward engineering applications of graphenes. Microoptics have enormous applications in numerous fields, such as consumer electronics, sensors, optical communications, medical applications, light shaping, and energy. Currently, most low-cost microoptics products are based on plastic materials, which are commonly used in low-cost consumer electronics. However, plastic microoptics have many drawbacks, such as low reflective index, low light permeability, unstable to environmental changes, low hardness, etc. The replacement of plastic microoptics with low-cost precision glass microoptics is indispensable.