Gallium Nitride & Graphene - The 'Extreme Materials' To Speed Up Electronics

Tomás Palacios, associate professor of electrical engineering & computer science at MIT is fascinated by two materials - Gallium Nitride & Graphene. He calls them 'Extreme Materials' and has setup a team of 25 graduate students, postdocs and research scientists into two groups, one focusing on Gallium Nitride and the other on Graphene. 'Gallium Nitride' is extreme, Says Palacios because it can handle 10x the voltage as silicon - which pretty much forms the basis of all the electronics we use these days - from televisions to mobiles and tablets. On the other hand, Graphene is extreme because of its properties viz: it's the thinnest material one can think of and lightest as well. At the same time, it's strongest material too.


The team focusing on Gallium Nitride is researching applications of this material into various types of power electronics. With US Department Of Energy announcing $140 million grant to the institute to power electronics, the team is happier and confident than ever before. The DOE is particularly interested in adoption of Gallium Nitride in lighting and power electronics projects which would reduce the global energy consumption by 25%. The properties of this material also allow it to be used in higher-frequency electronics - those that operate at 100s of GHz and even terahertz. The only thing that goes against the material is that it's not available in bulk.

The team focusing on Graphene is experimenting with chemical and biological sensors. An interesting application the team is working on is use of graphene in the next generation of nigh-vision - the one that would allows four-wheelers to be driven effortlessly in low light conditions.

Read more about the research on source link below.

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