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Epitaxial graphene: A new electronic material for the 21st century

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Abstract

Graphene has been known for a long time, but only recently has its potential for electronics been recognized. Its history is recalled starting from early graphene studies. A critical insight in June 2001 brought to light that graphene could be used for electronics. This was followed by a series of proposals and measurements cumulating in a comprehensive patent for graphene-based electronics filed in 2003. The Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) graphene electronics research project group selected epitaxial graphene as the most viable route for graphene-based electronics, as described in their 2004 paper on transport and structural measurements of epitaxial graphene. Subsequently, the field developed rapidly, and multilayer graphene was discovered at GIT. This material consists of many graphene layers, but it is not graphite; in contrast to graphite, the layers are rotated with respect to each other, causing electronic decoupling so that each layer has the electronic structure of graphene. Currently, the field has developed to the point where epitaxial graphene-based electronics may be realized in the not too distant future.

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Acknowledgments

The Georgia Institute of Technology graphene electronics research project was first funded by Intel Corp. in 2003, later by the National Science Foundation in 2004, the Keck foundation in 2008, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in 2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA

    Walt A. de Heer

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  1. Walt A. de Heer
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Correspondence to Walt A. de Heer.

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Walt A. de Heer (Georgia Institute of Technology) gave the MRS Medal presentation on December 2, 2010, at the Materials Research Society Fall Meeting in Boston. De Heer was awarded the Medal “for his pioneering contributions to the science and technology of epitaxial graphene.” This article, authored by de Heer, provides a written adaptation of that address.

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de Heer, W.A. Epitaxial graphene: A new electronic material for the 21st century. MRS Bulletin 36, 632–639 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2011.158

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