Scientists at Columbia Engineering have discovered yet another
talent in graphene, a unique new material that consists of a
sheet of carbon only one atom thick. Graphene is already under
the spotlight for its potential use in ultra-efficient
electronics, batteries, solar energy, and even desalination, and
now it seems that graphene could provide a platform for energy-
efficient telecommunications, too. Graphene for
telecommunications The new research, in collaboration with the
Institute of Microelectronics in Singapore, has resulted in the
development of a hybrid semiconductor chip made of silicon
layered with graphene. With the addition of graphene, the
research team was able to make the chip generate a radio
frequency on top of a laser beam. They could also change the
frequency by altering the intensity and color of the laser beam.
The device is based on “mixing” two electromagnetic fields that
operate at low energy, which translates into a reduction in the
amount of energy needed to transmit each informatio