Graphene: Fundamental Research and Applications in Nano-electronics, Photonics and Bio-sciences

石墨烯是2004年在英国发现的单层碳原子，是已知的最薄的导电材料，具有独特的机械、电学和光学性能，受不同寻常和迷人的物理学支配。石墨烯的发现开启了纳米技术的新纪元--石墨烯的独特性质可以有广泛的实际应用，从所有碳基纳米电子设备，它可以与硅竞争，甚至可能取代硅，再到医药和医疗保健。我们建议通过埃克塞特大学和巴斯大学的实验和理论专业知识相结合的基础上，创建一个英国石墨烯研究的卓越中心。这两所大学位于英格兰西南部，拥有强大的地区联系。我们在涵盖材料物理研究的广泛学科中拥有独特的专业知识和资源组合：纳米电子学(包括石墨烯和一系列其他碳基电子材料)、光子学、纳米磁学和超导。物理学和工程学之间的“核心”合作将扩展到化学、生物科学和药学与药理学。石墨烯研究本身已经显示出其本身的跨学科性质，这些额外部门的参与将为这项工作增加一个关键的新维度。该中心将成为石墨烯科学的国际焦点，支持学术和工业研究活动。它将创造新的学术职位，并提供一个最先进的设备基地，可与世界上任何一个实验室相媲美，以吸引来自全球各地的顶尖研究人员。两所大学都长期致力于发展多学科研究，都将材料研究作为主要战略方向之一，已经在这方面进行了数百万英镑的投资。虽然石墨烯是一个非常新的研究领域，但我们已经有几个小组在该领域取得了非常成功的记录。来自这两个机构的在各自领域具有国际地位的新团体现在正被吸引进来，并带来它们积累的资源和专门知识。科学与创新奖将被分配给为新的永久研究人员职位、博士后和博士后学生提供资金，总共约25人，以及用价值数百万英镑的一流设备完成增长、纳米制造和纳米尺度表征的基础设施。新员工将通过与该中心核心成员的互动，在高度支持的环境中得到培养。该中心的主要研究方向将包括：-所有可能的生产石墨烯层和纳米结构的方法，从化学、机械到直接生长方法；-探索生产石墨烯结构和设备的全方位加工技术，从基于扫描探针的技术和自组装的“自下而上”原子尺度图案，到使用先进的光刻工具的“自上而下”纳米制造；-广泛的多学科和互补的实验，将得到理论研究的并行支持。这些将涵盖从了解石墨烯的基本物理，到了解涉及石墨烯的复杂系统和设备的行为；-将石墨烯与纳米科学中的其他专题学科和生命科学接口相结合；-确保产生石墨烯的知识转移和工业应用。该奖项还将支持建立一个中心国际准成员网络，包括从事石墨烯工作的成员以及促进思想交流的密切相关领域的成员。将邀请一部分国际准成员担任咨询委员会成员，该委员会将每年举行会议，审查中心的进展情况并指导其发展。

Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms discovered in 2004 in the UK, is the thinnest known conducting material with unique mechanical, electrical and optical properties governed by unusual and fascinating physics. The discovery of graphene has launched a new era in nanotechnology - the unique properties of graphene can have a vast range of practical applications, from all carbon-based nanoelectronics, which could rival and possibly even replace Si, to medicine and healthcare. We propose to create a UK centre of excellence for graphene research by building on the combined experimental and theoretical expertise of Exeter and Bath Universities, two universities in the South West of England that share strong regional links. Together we have a unique combination of expertise and resources in a broad range of disciplines covering materials physics research: nanoelectronics (including graphene and a range of other carbon-based electronic materials), photonics, nanomagnetism and superconductivity. The 'core' collaboration between Physics and Engineering will expand to embrace Chemistry, Bio-Sciences, and Pharmacy & Pharmacology. Graphene research has already shown itself to be inherently interdisciplinary and the involvement of these additional departments will add a crucial new dimension to the work.The Centre will act as an international focus for graphene science, supporting both academic and industrial research activities. It will create new academic positions and provide a state-of-the-art equipment base, equal to that found in any laboratory worldwide, to attract leading researchers from around the globe. Both Universities have a long term commitment to the development of multi-disciplinary research, and both have set materials research as one of their main strategic directions, with multimillion-pound investments already made in it. Although graphene is a very new research field, we already have several groups with highly successful track-records in the area. New groups, with international standing in their respective domains, from both Institutions, are now being drawn into it and bring their accumulated resources and expertise. The Science and Innovation Award will be distributed between funding new permanent Researcher positions, Post-docs and PhD students, about 25 in total, and completing the infrastructure with top-of-the-range equipment for growth, nanofabrication and nanoscale characterization worth several million pounds. The new staff will be nurtured within a highly supportive environment via interactions with the core members of the centre.The main research directions of the Centre will cover:- all possible ways of producing graphene layers and nanostructures, ranging from chemical, mechanical, to direct growth methods;- exploring the full range of processing techniques to produce graphene structures and devices, ranging from 'bottom-up' atomic scale patterning by scanning probe-based techniques and self-assembly, to 'top-down' nanofabrication using advanced lithographic tools;- a broad spectrum of multi-disciplinary and complementary experiments, that will be supported in parallel by theoretical investigations. These will span from understanding the fundamental physics of graphene, to understanding the behaviour of complex systems and devices involving graphene;- coupling graphene with other topical disciplines in Nanoscience and at the life-sciences interface;- ensuring that there is knowledge transfer and industrial applications of graphene are generated. The Award will also support the creation of a network of International Associate Members of the Centre, including both those working on graphene as well as those in closely related domains that will promote cross-fertilization of ideas. A subset of the international associate members will be invited to sit on an Advisory Board which will meet annually to review the progress of the Centre and guide its development.