Graphene Formed Under Microscope Is Small Enough for Electronics

Scientists at Rice University; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT Knoxville); and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) used a small, visible beam mounted to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to form laser-induced graphene (LIG), a multifunctional graphene foam that is typically direct-written with an infrared (IR) laser into a carbon-based precursor material. The researchers were able to directly observe LIG formation while the process occurred in the SEM chamber. The researchers used a 405-nm laser to directly convert polyimide, a polymer, into LIG. The SEM-mounted laser burned only the top 5 µm of the polymer, allowing LIG features with a spatial resolution of about 12 µm and a thickness of less than 5...