New method for rapid manufacture of nano-microchips

An international research team of researchers from the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea claimed that they invented a new method that can quickly and efficiently make graphite and other special materials into nanometer microchips that are only one atom thick. This method is inexpensive. Large-scale industrial production is also possible, which may lead to a new electronics and energy storage technology revolution. Related results were published in the most recent issue of Science.

Graphene is a hotspot of materials research in recent years. Due to its distinctive electrical properties, physicists are concerned that physicists hope that one day it can be used in electronic components with a shorter length than traditional silicon materials. But in fact, there are hundreds of similar special layered materials, such as boron nitride, molybdenum disulfide, tungsten disulfide, etc., which can also be used for the innovation of new technologies. For decades, researchers have been trying their best to make these materials into nanometer microchips in order to take advantage of their unusual electronic and thermoelectric properties. However, almost all methods are very time consuming and laborious. The materials produced are also very fragile and most of them cannot be practically used.

The international research team consisting of the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea, after intensive research, has found a new method for preparing nanometer microchips. Using ultrasonic pulses, they can use a variety of milligrams of special layered materials in a matter of hours. Billions of graphene-like nanosheets that are only one atom thick are made. The researchers said that the method is inexpensive, but very efficient. The nano-sheets made by this method can be sprayed on the surface of other materials such as silicon to make a hybrid film that will effectively use material properties and traditional technologies. The combination can be applied to the manufacture of new computer components, sensors or batteries.

One of the leaders of the research project, Professor Jonathan Coleman of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, pointed out that the chemical and electrical properties of these new materials enable new electronic devices, super-composite materials, energy generation and storage, etc. The aspect has a wide range of uses, and this study can be regarded as an important advancement in the study of high-efficiency thermoelectric materials.