Narrow nanoribbons for graphene transistors

Using a simple chemical method, researchers have succeeded for the first time in growing graphene ribbons just a few nanometers wide on specially prepared surfaces. Graphene ribbons are seen as highly promising candidates for electronic applications, as their properties can be varied according to their width and the shape of their edges . Graphene transistors are seen as possible successors to today's silicon transistors. Formed from two-dimensional layers of carbon, graphene possesses a number of quite extraordinary properties: not only is it harder than diamond, extremely resistant to tensile stress and impervious to gases, it is also an excellent electrical and thermal conductor. However, as graphene is a semi-metal, it has no band gap, unlike silicon, and therefore no switching function, which is THE essential prerequisite for electronic applications. Researchers have now developed a new process for producing graphene ribbons with a band gap. Extremely narrow graphene ribbons Until now, graphene ribbons have been obtained by "cutting" graphene layers in much the same way as noodles are cut from rolled-out dough.