Graphene: Reversible Method of Magnetic Doping Paves Way For Semiconductor Use

concertina226 writes: A team of physicists at University of California, Riverside have discovered how to induce magnetism in graphene in a way that still preserves the material's electronic properties, which paves the way for graphene to be used as a semiconductor.

The researchers grew a sheet of yttrium iron garnet using laser molecular beam epitaxy in a laboratory (abstract). Magnetic substances like iron are known to disrupt graphene's electrical conduction properties, but yttrium iron garnet works well as it is an electric insulator.

When a graphene sheet was placed on top of an atomically smooth sheet of yttrium iron garnet, the graphene borrowed the magnetic properties from the yttrium iron garnet and became magnetized without the need for doping.

Comments

without the need for doping

[Chas]

Graphene. Just say "no" to drugs?

Re:without the need for doping

[FatdogHaiku]

Your CPU's obsolete
Because of some skinny sheet
Of Graphene!

Don't know why
Don't know why
Don't know why
Graphene!

When your job ain't no fun
Turn a zero to one
With Graphene!

Don't know why
Don't know why
Don't know why
Graphene!

Apologies to Eric Clapton...

Confused Summary

[rubycodez]

Graphene might be used in semiconductor devices whether magnetized or not; being able to magnetize it opens possibilities of making some types of devices but in no way is a prerequisite for practical applications of graphene in computers, semiconductors, etc.

Graphene still has a little problem

[sacremon]

Until we have a way to mass produce the stuff, all this research is fine and well but you won't be seeing it in products anytime soon. Not saying the research is pointless, just that people shouldn't get too excited about the applications just yet. There are some more fundamental issues that need to be resolved first.

That sounds cheap

[PetiePooo]

I'm sure it's commercially viable, easy and cheap to do. We'll see this in real world applications in about 2 years if all goes well.

NOT!

But good luck with it. This is the kind of breakthrough that may one day lead to viable quantum computers, teleportation, and other things that are relegated to the SyFy channel for now.

Still ignoring the big issue with graphene.

[blueshift_1]

It's fine to make graphene do all these goodies. We still have to find a way to manufacture it more efficiently... other than getting a lot of pencils and scotch tape :D

Re:Still ignoring the big issue with graphene.

[Em Adespoton]

http://www.rsc.org/chemistrywo...

Maher El-Kady and others at the University of California at Los Angeles have now found a way to fabricate graphene films, and graphene capacitors, without any sticking together. The researchers take a DVD and apply a layer of plastic, followed by a film of graphite oxide. They then insert the DVD into a standard DVD drive, so that the in-built laser chemically reduces the graphite oxide to graphene. Having removed the disc, the researchers peel off the plastic, which is then coated in graphene, and cut it into whatever shapes they desire.

Sounds like Riverside and LA need to team up on this. The method of using a red laser to reduce the oxide should be relatively easy to replicate at an industrial scale. Then the problem becomes sourcing large quantities of graphene oxide. However, since the US creates its own synthetic graphite, it should be relatively simple to apply the next stage of converting it to graphene oxide as part of the synthesis process.