One of the key requirements of future optical communications technologies is a nanoscale light source capable of emitting ultrafast light pulses. In a new study, researchers have shown that graphene may be an ideal candidate for such a light source, by demonstrating graphene-based devices that emit light pulses with a bandwidth of up to 10 GHz and pulse durations of less than 100 picoseconds (or 10 billion pulses per second).
The interest in graphene and its translation into commercial products has been expanding at a high pace. Based on previously described pulmonary safety concerns for carbon nanomaterials, there is a great need to define parameters guiding interactions between graphene-based materials and the pulmonary system.
Imperial College London researchers aim to reduce the weight of body armor by combining silk with graphene. The team hypothesized that by improving on the Kevlar layer, they could reduce the size of the ceramic outer layer, making the vest much more wearable.
They initially looked at spider silk (as it is known to be 10 times tougher than Kevlar) but soon reached the conclusion that it would be too expensive and difficult. Instead, they turned to silk from silkworms, produced for thousands of years through sericulture. But while it is much easier to produce, it is not as tough as spider silk. To improve this, they added graphene.