Role of Graphite in the Modern Electronics Industry

Janifha Evangeline

Demand for graphite has grown rampantly as scientists as well as manufacturers have discovered that the unique capabilities of graphite lend themselves well to applications in the world of technology & electronics. Although graphite is already one of the key components in lithium-ion batteries for laptops, mobile phones as well as electric cars, it is being explored as an organic, and a highly flexible alternative to the materials which are used in the manufacturing of solar cells.

What makes graphite a great material for electronics applications is the unique ability of the material to conduct electricity while either dissipating or transferring heat away from critical components. These include semiconductors, electric motors & even the production of modern-day batteries.

Currently, research is being conducted on how the useful properties of graphite as well as the carbon monolayer materials could be harnessed for improving modern technology, that include flexible touch screens for electronics devices, sensors, DNA sequencing & fiber-optic cables.

Some of the significant applications of graphite in modern electronics industry include:

Nanotechnology & semiconductors

As devices & electronics are becoming smaller in size, carbon nanotubes are becoming the norm, & are proving to be the future of nanotechnology & the semiconductor industry. Graphene - the single layer of graphite at the atomic level are being rolled up & used in nanotubes & this is likely owing to the impressive electrical conductivity & the exceptional strength & stiffness of the material.

At present, carbon nanotubes are built with a length-to-diameter ratio of up to 132000000:1. This is notably larger than any other material. Apart from being leveraged in nanotechnology that is still rather new in the world of semiconductors, it should be kept in mind that most graphite manufacturers have been particular about making specific grades of graphite for the semiconductor sector for decades.

Electric motors, generators & alternators

Carbon graphite material in the form of carbon brushes is also frequently being implemented in electric motors, generators as well as alternators. Here, in this case a "brush" is nothing but a device which conducts current between stationary wires & a combination of moving parts and it is most often housed in a rotating shaft.

Ion Implantation

Today, graphite is being used with more frequency in the electronics industry. It is being implemented in ion implantation, transistors, electrical switches, capacitors, thermocouples, & batteries as well.

While ion implantation is an engineering process where ions of a specific material are augmented in an electrical field & are impacted into a different material, as a kind of impregnation, ion implantation is a basic process that is utilized in the manufacturing of microchips for modern computers & graphite atoms are one of the types of atoms which are infused into these silicon-based microchips.

Aside from the unique role of graphite in the manufacturing of microchips, graphite-based innovations today are being implemented for replacing conventional capacitors & transistors too. According to some researchers, graphene could be one of the possible alternatives to silicon since it is 100 times thinner than the smallest silicon transistor. It also conducts electricity more efficiently & possesses exotic properties which can be highly useful in quantum computing.

Graphene are also being used in modern capacitors as well. As a matter of fact, graphene supercapacitors are apparently twenty times highly powerful than conventional capacitors & would be three times stronger than high-powered, lithium-ion batteries that are present today.

Batteries

When it comes to batteries whether dry cell or lithium-ion, carbon & graphite materials have been instrumental here too. In the case of a traditional dry-cell batteries that are most often used in radios, flashlights, remotes as well as watches, a metal electrode or graphite rod which is the cathode is rounded by a moist electrolyte paste, and both of these are encapsulated within a metal cylinder.

At present, the modern lithium-ion batteries are making use of the graphite material as an anode. Earlier, the older lithium-ion batteries made use of traditional graphite materials, however today since graphene has become more readily available, graphene anodes are now being used. And these are owing to two important reasons such as: graphene anodes hold energy better & it promises a charge time which is ten times faster than the usual lithium-ion battery.
While rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are becoming highly popular now-a-days, these are now being used in military vehicles, home appliances, laptops, smart phones, portable electronics, hybrid electric cars, & in aerospace applications as well.

Paul Lancaster, managing director at graphite specialists Olmec Advanced Materials, says, " Graphene has the potential to revolutionize a whole host of industrial sectors."

“We are only just getting to grips with how to manipulate it effectively, yet it’s already showing us the way to new advances in industrial technology, consumer electronics, even neuroprosthetics and tissue engineering. We can only wait and see what the future holds for graphene," he adds.

The ever-expanding area of spin transport electronics - popularly known as spintronics is looking to graphene for future applications in quantum computing as well as consumer devices, eventually. By manipulating both the charge as well as spin of an electron, spintronics can fasten a the quantum state of a particle for enhancing its capacity not only for data storage, but also for processing power & transfer speeds.

Most of the electronic devices today comprise silicon circuits that allow them to store as well as transmit information. However, graphene holds the potential of replacing silicon & revolutionizing spintronics if it is being controlled effectively.