Researchers at Samsung's Advanced Institute of Technology and Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea have made a breakthrough that they claim will use graphene to build new wearable technology.
The scientists said they were able to synthesize a crystal of graphene that keeps its charge across a huge area, according to CNET. The research was published in Science Magazine and ScienceXpress and provides the possibility of commercial and industrial production of graphene.
Graphene has been experimented with since it was first discovered in 2004, Mashable reported. It is stronger than a diamond and almost every known material, and is an atom thick. Graphene is also extraordinarily conductive and improves communication.
"The new method...synthesizes large-area graphene into a single crystal on a semiconductor, maintaining its electric and mechanical properties," Samsung Electronics said. The method "repeatedly synthesizes single crystal graphene on the current semiconductor wafer scale."
Samsung added that it has not succeeded in earlier attempts to grow graphene wafers on a large scale since they destroyed some of the material's important qualities.
The research provides new opportunities for the use of graphene, such as the creation of flexible and unbreakable touchscreens and bionic implants, CNET reported. However, research is still in its early stages, and there are limits on the size of graphene particles for the current method. Currently, the only way to synthesize a usable amount of graphene is to put many graphene crystals together. Unfortunately, this method does not do as good of a job at conducting electricity.
While graphene can be as strong as steel, it can be flexible at the same time. Samsung said this ability makes it "the perfect material for use in flexible displays, wearables and other next generation electronic devices."
The one problem that graphene faces is that it cannot turn completely "off" due to being super-conductive, Mashable reported. Some researchers believe "doping" the graphene could help solve this problem, in which chemicals would be added to change its properties. However, the effect this method would have on graphene properties is unknown.
Companies such as Samsung, Apple, Nokia and Qualcomm are look at graphene to replace silicon, which is a decrease in supply, as the next material to be used for electronics.
