Disruptive Optoelectronic Manufacture using Graphene

LED和激光等半导体设备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来说，成本效益高、实用的来源是不可用的。例如，在气体传感系统中需要使用中红外光源，在该系统中，通过测量吸收的光量来确定气体浓度。许多重要气体，包括大气污染物，如二氧化硫，在光谱的这一部分具有最强的特征吸收，需要新的传感器来帮助满足日益增长的立法要求。然而，实现这些波长的设备不仅极具挑战性，而且制造它们也很复杂，成本也很高。这导致了许多零部件的制造都发生在英国以外的地方，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劣势。这项提议旨在通过开发利用石墨烯独特特性的新型设备来彻底改变这些零部件的制造。这种碳原子的二维片非常强、很轻，是一种非常好的电导体和热导体。这项工作的一部分将是试图利用这些特性来开发一种相当于自由电子激光器的固态激光器，这种激光器将在别无选择的波长上产生激光光源，其运行将挑战激光运行的既定概念。最终，基于石墨烯的组件的制造可能比传统半导体器件更便宜，更可持续。反过来，这将影响含有这些组件的产品的制造，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一条通往新产品的途径。

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.