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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/F039751/1
Title: Experimental studies of Graphene-Carbon Nanotube heterojunctions
Principal Investigator: Nicholas, Professor RJ
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Oxford Physics
Organisation: University of Oxford
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 30 June 2008 Ends: 30 April 2012 Value (£): 482,193
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Materials Characterisation Materials Processing
Materials Synthesis & Growth
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
12 Feb 2008 Materials Prioritisation Panel February (Tech) Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
The project will manufacture and study the behaviour of carbon based nanostructures which will be made by using a combination of flat single atomic layers of carbon, graphene, with carbon nanotubes which are formed when a single sheet of graphene is rolled into a tube with a diameter of the order of 1nm. The graphene is a semi-metallic system which can be gated to control the number of electrons or holes present. Carbon nanotubes can occur both as semiconductors and metals, giving this all carbon system the potential to form a large number of different electronic structures and devices. The graphene has a remarkable band structure which simulates the behaviour of massless particles, and offers the possibility of producing extremely fast electronic devices which could display quantum behaviour even at room temperature, due to the very large energy scale on which the charge carriers can operate. The carbon nanotubes have semiconducting band gaps in the region of 0.5 to 1.5 eV, which makes them comparable to existing devices built with silicon or gallium arsenide. The research will study devices which are at or below the nanoscale, with structures built from a single layer of graphene (thickness - 0.1nm) and single walled nanotubes of carbon (diameters 0.7 -1.4 nm). The electrical conduction through different types of junction will be studied as a function of magnetic field, temperature, gate and bias voltage. It is expected that these structures will show a variety of quantum effects, including one dimensional conduction, Coulomb blockade, spin controlled currents and momentum resolved tunnelling.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website: http://www.ox.ac.uk