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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Magnetism Discovered to Pattern #Graphene #Semiconductors

Pure carbon semiconductors made from graphene promise to obsolete silicon chips, prompting scientists to test it every-which-way, here by subjecting graphene to magnetic fields. Look for crystalline graphene semiconductor chips later in this decade. RColinJohnson @NextGenLog


The arrows denote the magnetic field, while hills and valleys are small potential fluctuations. Electrons that move along an equipotential become localized (right).

Here is what EETimes says about graphene in a magnetic field: The perfect crystalline structure of epitaxial graphene rearranges into a moire interference pattern of local band gaps when subjected to a magnetic field, according to researchers. The position-dependent atomic alignments between adjacent monolayers of graphene creates a regular pattern of regions where conduction is not allowed. The alignment could be magnetically switched in future carbon-based electronic devices...


Stacking of graphene sheets creates regions where the moiré alignment is of normal (blue), while nearby regions (red and yellow) are nonconductive when subjected to a magnetic field.

Full Text: http://bit.ly/NextGenLog-c3iy