Graphene Flexible Electronics and Optoelectronics: Bridging The Gap Between Academia and Industry

石墨烯具有许多记录特性。它像塑料一样透明（或比塑料更透明），但比任何金属都能更好地导热和导电，它是一种弹性薄膜，表现为不可渗透的膜，并且它是化学惰性和稳定的。因此，它是生产下一代透明导体的理想选择。可以获得薄且柔性的基于石墨烯的电子部件并将其模块化集成，并且可以组装和分配薄的便携式装置。石墨烯可以承受剧烈的机械变形，例如它可以折叠而不会断裂。可折叠设备可以想象，连同丰富的新的形式因素，与创新的概念，集成和分布。 目前，电子设备（例如，移动的电话）需要组装通过许多技术获得的各种部件。石墨烯通过在同一材料中包含不同的特性，可以为几乎任何设备组件的实现提供全面的技术平台，包括晶体管，电池，光电组件，光伏电池，（光）探测器，超快激光器，生物和物理化学传感器等。英国将有机会通过利用优秀研究人员和制造商的协同作用，重新获得全球信息和通信技术行业的突出地位。我们的愿景是将石墨烯从原始潜力状态提升到能够彻底改变柔性、可穿戴和透明（光）电子产品的程度，为英国在创新和开发方面带来多方面的回报。石墨烯在成本优势以及属性和性能的独特性方面都有好处。它将使廉价，能源自主和一次性设备和通信系统集成在透明和灵活的表面上，应用于智能家居，工业过程，环境监测，个人医疗保健等。这将带来终极的设备可穿戴性、新的用户界面和新颖的交互模式，并在通信、游戏、媒体、社交网络、体育和健康方面带来新的机会。通过实现灵活的（光）电子产品，石墨烯将允许利用有机电子产品（有机LED，导电聚合物，可印刷电子产品）公司的现有知识库和基础设施，以及收集和支持许多分布式技术能力的独特协同框架。拟议的剑桥石墨烯中心的战略重点将是围绕灵活和节能（光）电子的核心挑战而开展的活动，石墨烯是一个独特的使能平台。这将使我们能够：1）通过化学气相沉积和液相剥离大规模生长和生产石墨烯; 2）制备和测试墨水，直到控制和密切监测的中试生产线。目标是每周提供几升优化的解决方案和油墨，随时准备提供给现在和未来的合作伙伴，以便在他们的工厂进行测试; 3）设计、测试和生产各种基于石墨烯和相关材料的柔性天线、探测器和RF设备，覆盖所有现在和未来的波长范围; 4）原型和测试柔性电池和超级电容器，并将其包装以在现实设备中实现。我们现在和未来的工业合作伙伴将能够在该设施中进行中试阶段研究和设备原型设计，然后在现实的工业环境中进行更大规模的测试。分拆公司将被孵化，初创企业将能够将其更基础的工作承包给这个设施。

Graphene has many record properties. It is transparent like (or better than) plastic, but conducts heat and electricity better than any metal, it is an elastic thin film, behaves as an impermeable membrane, and it is chemically inert and stable. Thus it is ideal for the production of next generation transparent conductors. Thin and flexible graphene-based electronic components may be obtained and modularly integrated, and thin portable devices may be assembled and distributed. Graphene can withstand dramatic mechanical deformation, for instance it can be folded without breaking. Foldable devices can be imagined, together with a wealth of new form factors, with innovative concepts of integration and distribution. At present, the realisation of an electronic device (such as, e.g., a mobile phone) requires the assembly of a variety of components obtained by many technologies. Graphene, by including different properties within the same material, can offer the opportunity to build a comprehensive technological platform for the realisation of almost any device component, including transistors, batteries, optoelectronic components, photovoltaic cells, (photo)detectors, ultrafast lasers, bio- and physicochemical sensors, etc. Such a change in the paradigm of device manufacturing would revolutionise the global industry. UK will have the chance to re-acquire a prominent position within the global Information and Communication Technology industry, by exploiting the synergy of excellent researchers and manufacturers. Our vision is to take graphene from a state of raw potential to a point where it can revolutionise flexible, wearable and transparent (opto)electronics, with a manifold return for UK, in innovation and exploitation. Graphene has benefits both in terms of cost-advantage, and uniqueness of attributes and performance. It will enable cheap, energy autonomous and disposable devices and communication systems, integrated in transparent and flexible surfaces, with application to smart homes, industrial processes, environmental monitoring, personal healthcare and more. This will lead to ultimate device wearability, new user interfaces and novel interaction paradigms, with new opportunities in communication, gaming, media, social networking, sport and wellness. By enabling flexible (opto)electronics, graphene will allow the exploitation of the existing knowledge base and infrastructure of companies working on organic electronics (organic LEDs, conductive polymers, printable electronics), and a unique synergistic framework for collecting and underpinning many distributed technical competences. The strategic focus of the proposed Cambridge Graphene Centre will be in activities built around the central challenge of flexible and energy efficient (opto)electronics, for which graphene is a unique enabling platform. This will allow us to 1) grow and produce graphene by chemical vapour deposition and liquid phase exfoliation on large scale; 2) prepare and test inks, up to a controlled and closely monitored pilot line. The target is several litres per week of optimized solutions and inks, ready to be provided to present and future partners for testing in their plants; 3) design, test and produce a variety of flexible, antennas, detectors and RF devices based on graphene and related materials, covering all present and future wavelength ranges; 4) prototype and test flexible batteries and supercapacitors and package them for implementation in realistic devices. Our present and future industrial partners will be able to conduct pilot-phase research and device prototyping in this facility, before moving to larger scale testing in realistic industrial settings. Spin-off companies will be incubated, and start-ups will be able to contract their more fundamental work to this facility.