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Graphene is a super strong sheet of carbon that's only one-atom thick. Since its discovery less than a decade ago, researchers have learned that graphene conducts heat and electricity extremely well. It's also transparent and highly flexible, making it an ideal candidate for making better electronics and other devices.
Now a team that includes Nobel Prize–winning graphene researchers Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov has improved graphene's ability to act as a photodetector. They combined graphene with metallic nanostructures to get a 20-fold enhancement in its ability to absorb light. [T. J. Echtermeyer et al., "Strong plasmonic enhancement of photovoltage in graphene," in Nature Communications]
Scientists already knew that adding certain materials to graphene could increase its light-harvesting efficiency and its ability to turn those photons into electricity. But they didn't realize just how much better the carbon sheets could get. They now believe that graphene could be the foundation for optical communications that are at least 10 and maybe even 100 times faster than the fastest data transfer rates available today.
In which case, the speed increase we got by moving from dial-up to broadband may have just been shifting into second gear on the information superhighway.
—Larry Greenemeier
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
[Scientific American is part of the Nature Publishing Group.]
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8 Comments
Add CommentTired of hearing about graphene. Implement it already.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTired of hearing about faster internet, too. The people in South Korea have better internet service than most Americans -- four or five times faster than our fastest link via common carrier. Like SciGuy says, "Implement it already."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWith all our talk, isn't it time that we . . .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisImplement it already.
Amen.
I'm tired of hearing about South Korea, too!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTheir population density is 1,271/sq mi; ours is 87.4/sq mi. Their infrastructure cost/internet connection is dramatically less than ours. If you want South Korea's internet you'll have to move there, or we'll all have to move to New York!
Thanks for pointing out the population density/efficiency issue. I would love the higher speeds available in South Korea but I already feel crowded in the small city I live in. Crammed into a highrise I'm sure I would quickly get even crazier than I already am.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm pretty sure that if someone ponies up the money any telecom carrier would be glad to run fiber to their home and give astoundingly fast connectivity. Who needs that new car anyways? A college education for your kids? pshaw! With the ability to download a full length movie in a second or two you could easily make a fortune in copyright violation or porn serving.
Personally I think I'll stick with my coaxial cable and having my car paid off.
I've never been to Korea, but Tokyo would take a lot of getting used to. I'll keep the trees & shrubs in my very own yard, thanks!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe one thing that bugs me about this article is that it's acting like the transmission medium is graphene...most transmission is thru fiber...I doubt if graphene can beat it...as far as electric circuits at the end points...maybe...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, jt, I do understand about the comparative size of the countries. I lived in England for a long time where cellphone usage was widely spread much earlier than in the States due to the much smaller size of the country.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut a significant portion of the problem in the States is the tendency of corporations to only provide enough service to get people to pay for it. If providing more takes an effort & the ROI is below a certain threshold, then it won't be done.
In this area, gov't subsidies would be useful... instead of subsidizing petroleum exploration & extraction... an area where profit already exceeds all reason.