Are we backing the right horse when it comes to graphene?
1 min read
Graphene remains, for the moment, the wonder material. As New Electronics noted recently, it appears graphene is being touted as suitable for use in every new application. But, as we have also noted, other 'wonder materials' are available.
One such material is molybdenum disulphide (MoS2). Unlike graphene, MoS2 has a band gap and can therefore be used to create transistors with high on-off ratios and high voltage gains.
Researchers in the US have recently created FETs made from MoS2 and claim these devices have a cut off frequency of 42GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 50GHz.
James Baker, business director of the National Graphene Institute, talked about the commercialisation of graphene at the recent Electronics Design Show Conference. He likened the current state of graphene development to that of carbon nanotubes 45 years ago, when a similar frisson of excitement rippled through the world of technology.
And yet carbon nanotubes still appear to be tomorrow's technology.
"Graphene technology can be viewed as 10 years old or 10 years young," he noted, "but applications are starting to appear."
So is graphene still one of the horses to back or should the smart money be going on materials such as MoS2? Time, as they say, will tell.
