Graphene, CNTs & 2D Materials: Users, Applications, Major Producers & Start Ups

Applied Nanolayers BV (ANL) has spent the last years developing solutions for graphene production and integration, such as wafer scale growth processes and tools and wafer-to- wafer transfer processes and tools, combined with wafer scale quality analysis, and wafer scale device fabrication. We now offer a foundry service to integrate these materials on existing semiconductor technology to precisely those customers who wish to bring their graphene application to a higher TRL. This allows SME’s as well as larger companies to develop their intended 2D material device applications without having to invest upfront in expensive production infrastructure.
ANL has its own 200 mm automated CVD platform to enable the consistent growth of high- quality graphene. For the transfer ANL has developed a unique wafer-to-wafer transfer technique with dry graphene transfer. This transfer method is more reliable and easier to automate than liquid based transfer methods. It also provides better control over stress, strain and wrinkles in the graphene layer, which results in more uniform final device performance.
Next to its foundry service ANL has also developed a graphene Application Development Kit (ADK). This enables ANL’s customers to execute fast prototyping using ANL’s graphene and use a manual dry bond. This method provides the best possible results, only to be topped by ANL’s automated transfer. The ADK can be used at wafer level, but it can also be cut in pieces and transferred to individual chips or other small size applications.

Atrago is a display technology innovator that has developed a novel graphene MEMS solution. We are targeting the more advanced display sub-segments such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) glasses and heads-up displays (HUD) as the first part of a broader mainstream adoption strategy for our new technology

AR/ VR devices and HUDs require exceptional displays to enhance user experience. Currently, display manufacturers seek to achieve high resolution, high refresh rates and low power consumption. Standard technologies lack the performance and efficiency required and rely on an internal light generation causing high consumption of power. Atrago's technology combines the best performance in each category guaranteeing a premium and sustainable solution.

Atrago has developed a graphene-based electro-opto-mechanical system addressing the needs of the AR/VR and head-up displays industry. The solution is a reflective display whose pixels are mechanical micro-optical cavities made of graphene nano-sheets. The pixels can be electrically controlled to modulate ambient light and produce natural colours. This eliminates the need to use battery power to generate light in bright environments.

C12 builds next generation quantum computers powered by the most elementary material: carbon nanotubes. By utilizing single-electron spins hosted in suspended ultra-clean carbon nanotubes, we achieve the closest realization of an ideal spin qubit in vacuum. We integrate the nanotubes onto semiconductor chips thanks to our proprietary high-throughput technique. Thereby, we achieve isolated yet easily addressable qubits. Our carbon nanotube based technology can scale quantum computing, in the vein of what silicon did for classical computing. Combining the purity of carbon nanotubes and well-established semiconductor manufacturing, our innovation has the potential to process quantum information at large scale with the highest fidelity.

COphite Material is a carbon-based anode that is designed to extend the roadmap for graphite anodes. The COphite material is the world’s first known form of solid carbon monoxide (CO) at room temperature and pressure. This new material has a unique set of beneficial properties, can be produced from renewable feedstocks and is protected by fundamental issued and pending patents.

The interaction of Li atoms with a single layer of solid carbon monoxide demonstrates that Li2C6O6 configuration is energetically stable while an equivalent configuration for graphene (Li2C6) is not. The highest concentration (Li2C2O2) has a theoretical capacity of 957mAh/g and a formation energy near zero. Analysis of the band structure and density of states show that the Li donates a large fraction of its valence electron to the carbon monoxide monolayer, although there is also the formation of covalent Li–O bonds, thus facilitating the formation of Li+ ions when leaving the monolayer. These characteristics are desirable for battery anode materials and suggest that COphite material, a composite containing solid carbon monoxide, especially in multilayer form, is a promising for higher specific capacity solution. COphite materials produced with a scalable process demonstrate excellent anode performance.

COnovate is pursuing the lithium-ion battery (LIB) market for the first commercial application of the COphite material. The COphite material offers battery cell manufacturers an evolutionary drop-in solution for significantly improving battery performance and safety compared to traditional LIB cells. The material works seamlessly with incumbent anode materials and battery designs. This enables rapid industry adoption of the material with the capability to power phones for days, energize electric cars for long trips, charge power tools for numerous projects within minutes, all without risk of fire.

To increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases, there is a growing demand for lightweight materials containing carbon. Carbon materials additives have applications in over 40 sectors, including composites, batteries, plastics, coatings, etc. Carbon materials have a wide range of physical properties and are often known as multifunctional, meaning that they can have combinations of multiple useful physical properties such as mechanical strength, low density, low or high electrical conductivity, low or high thermal conductivity, electromagnetic, corrosion resistance, and UV resistance. Carbon can be found in different allotropes, such as amorphous carbon, graphite, graphene, diamonds, fullerenes, carbon nanofoams, carbon nanofibers, fibres, and nanotubes. At Carbonova, we utilize greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) to produce carbon nanofibers more economically and sustainably.

Ceylon Graphite is a public company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange that is mining graphite technology and developing and commercializing innovative graphene and graphite applications and products. Graphite mined in Sri Lanka is known to be some of the purest in the world. It has been confirmed to be suitable for easily upgradeable for a range of applications, including the high-growth electric vehicle and battery storage markets.
Li-ion batteries are presently being investigated and commercially implemented for energy storage applications such as electric vehicles, grid energy storage or storage for renewable energies. Like other global platform technologies that came before microchips, batteries represent an enormous challenge and opportunity for today's businesses. Get batteries right, and you can create a huge competitive advantage and trillions of dollars of value (see Tesla, Neo, GM, VW, BMW). Get them wrong and face multi-billion dollar recalls and incalculable brand damage. It can be overwhelming trying to stay on top of these trends.
This talk will focus on the following key topics:
➢ Simplify Vein Graphite Ceylon graphite battery materials technology, particular An- ode Batteries materials technology, using Natural Graphite, Vein Graphite with a low carbon footprint.
➢ Battery technology is constantly evolving. While lithium-ion batteries established market dominance, there is still enormous variation across form factors chemical formulations, not to mention continuous improvements to enhance performance.
➢ Role of Graphene as an additive and appropriate utilization.

DexMat manufactures high-performance Galvorn carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers and films using a proprietary solution processing technology. We aim to supplant heavy, rigid metals used for wiring in the aerospace, wearable electronics, and medical device markets. Metal wiring is heavy and is prone to fatigue failure in electronics. Lightweight, flexible wires and cables made with DexMat materials are up to 90 % lighter, 10 times stronger, and have over 100 times higher flex life than metal wiring. Conductive CNT fiber/thread can be sewn directly into fabric or clothing, is machine washable, and is capable of picking up electrical signals from the body such as a pulse simply by being in contact with skin. Furthermore, Galvorn threads can be readily assembled into fabrics and used as dry contact electrodes for EKG measurement. DexMat is seeking to build strong relationships with leading apparel and consumer electronics companies to accelerate the development of DexMat products into wearable electronics and e-textile applications. High-tech apparel for performance athletes, medical EKG monitoring clothing, military uniforms with portable antennas for wireless communications, and wearable fabric batteries are just a few potential entry applications for DexMat CNT products.

Field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensing devices have demonstrated advantages over other sensing methods including, high sensitivity, simplicity and rapid detection of small amounts of analytes. Further, since FETs offer an extremely small and compact form factor while eliminating the chemical steps involved in a diagnostic assay, they have shown a great deal of promise for use as the basis for Point of Need (PON) diagnostic devices. Such PON systems could fill an important gap where conventional molecular diagnostics are not readily available such as in the home. Graphene-based FETs in particular offer ultrasensitive, rapid, and accurate detection of DNA, proteins, bacteria, and viruses. Graphene can be easily functionalized to create selective surface reactions to a wide range of biological targets that can then be detected electronically. Highly specific capture/receptor molecules can be attached to the graphene surface to identify harmful pathogens with extremely high sensitively and specificity. The electrical signal that is generated on the graphene surface as a result of the pathogen target molecule binding to the capture/receptor molecule can be easily measured without any additional chemical steps or readers. The incredibly wide range of molecular targets that can be detected by graphene has created a great deal of interest in developing these sensors for use in compact PON disease diagnostic systems.
GRIP Molecular Technologies has been working in collaboration with the Department of Physics at Boston College to develop an electronic biosensor based on GFET’s for ultrasensitive multiplexed detection of respiratory viral antigens for an in-home diagnostic platform. Using aptamers as capture probes, and a GFET prototype developed at Boston College, protein detection using synthetic SARS-CoV-2 spike, Influenza HA and RSV proteins has been demonstrated at an LoD that is 50-100x more sensitive than POC based ELISA assays. In addition, these antigens have been detected at the same time on a single device with multiplexing. Using electrophoresis, detection of antibiotic resistant bacteria using peptide capture probes has also been accomplished. We will outline the device optimization enabling this breakthrough as well as next steps towards PON devices.