Disruptive Optoelectronic Manufacture using Graphene

半导体器件如led和激光器支撑着现代生活的许多领域，如通信、消费电子和传感。然而，对于频谱的许多重要部分，成本效益高，实用的来源是不可用的。例如，中红外光源需要用于气体传感系统，其中气体浓度是通过测量光的吸收量来确定的。许多重要气体，包括二氧化硫等大气污染物，在这部分光谱中具有最强的特征吸收，需要新的传感器来帮助满足日益增加的立法要求。然而，实现这些波长的器件不仅极具挑战性，而且生产它们也很复杂且成本高昂。这导致许多部件制造发生在英国以外，这使得英国的传感和仪器制造商与海外竞争对手相比处于不利地位。该提案旨在通过开发利用石墨烯独特特性的新设备，彻底改变这些组件的制造。这种碳原子的二维薄片非常坚固、轻便，是一种非常好的电和热导体。这项工作的部分目的是试图利用这些特性来开发一种固态等效的自由电子激光器，它将产生波长无可替代的激光源，其操作将挑战激光操作的既定概念。最终，制造基于石墨烯的组件可能比传统半导体设备更便宜，更可持续。反过来，这将影响含有这些组件的产品的制造，例如气体传感器和分析仪，因此通过启动基于石墨烯的组件行业，为英国传感器和分析仪制造商提供了开发新产品的途径。

Semiconductor devices such as LEDs and lasers underpin many areas of modern life such as communications, consumer electronics and sensing. However, cost-effective, practical sources are not available for many important parts of the spectrum. For example, mid-infrared sources are required for use in gas sensing systems in which the gas concentration is determined by measuring the amount of light absorbed. Many important gases, including atmospheric pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, have their strongest characteristic absorption in this part of the spectrum and new sensors are needed to help meet increasing legislative requirements. However, it is not only extremely challenging to realise devices at these wavelengths, but it is also complicated and costly to produce them. This has resulted in much component manufacture occurring outside the UK, which puts UK sensing and instrument manufacturers at a disadvantage compared to overseas competitors.This proposal aims to revolutionise the manufacture of these components by developing novel devices that utilise the unique properties of graphene. This two dimensional sheet of carbon atoms is extremely strong, light and has is an extremely good electrical and thermal conductor. Part of this work will be aimed at trying to exploit these properties to develop a solid-state equivalent of a Free Electron Laser, which would create laser sources at wavelengths at which there are no alternatives, and the operation of which would challenge established notions of laser operation. Ultimately, the manufacture of graphene based components could be less expensive and more sustainable than conventional semiconductor devices. In turn this will impact the manufacture of products containing these components such as gas sensors and analysers and therefore provide UK sensor and analyser manufacturers a route to new products by initiating a graphene based component industry.