World's Thinnest Light Bulb is Just ONE ATOM Thick

World's thinnest light bulb is just ONE ATOM thick: Technology could lead to super-thin flexible TV screens

• Researchers at Columbia University created the 'bulb' by attaching a small strip of 'atomically thin' graphene, acting as a filament to metal electrodes
• Graphene - a form of carbon - has been heralded as having a range of uses
• Technology could lead to super-thin computer and TV screens

By Colin Fernandez

Published: 18:16 GMT, 15 June 2015 | Updated: 20:26 GMT, 15 June 2015

 

Scientists have created the world's thinnest light bulb using the wonder material graphene, in a layer just one atom thick.

Graphene – a form of carbon – has been heralded as having a vast range of uses.

The ability for the super-thin material to produce light is seen as a key step to create super-thin computer and TV screens.

Scientists have created the world's thinnest light bulb using the wonder material graphene in a layer just one atom thick (illustrated). 

The 'bulb' was created by attaching a small strip of 'atomically thin' graphene, acting as a filament, to metal electrodes.

When they passed a current through it, the graphene lit up.

James Hone, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University said: 'We've created what is essentially the world's thinnest light bulb.' 

Process of bright visible light emission in graphene

The 'bulb' was created by attaching a small strip of 'atomically thin' graphene, acting as a filament, to metal electrodes. When the team passed a current through it, the graphene lit up (pictured at different magnifications left (which can be seen with the naked eye) left and right

WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

Graphene is a single atomic layer of carbon atoms bound in a hexagonal network.

It not only promises to revolutionise semiconductor, sensor, and display technology, but could also lead to breakthroughs in fundamental quantum physics research.

It is often depicted as an atomic-scale chicken wire made of carbon atoms and their bonds.

Scientists believe it could one day be used to make transparent conducting materials, biomedical sensors and even extremely light, yet strong, aircraft of the future.

Similar to another important nanomaterial - carbon nanotubes - graphene is incredibly strong - around 200 times stronger than structural steel.

He added that the light 'will pave the way towards the realisation of atomically thin, flexible and transparent displays'.

The filament, despite being tiny, is visible to the naked eye when it is on.

The graphene reaches very high temperatures of  2,500°C but does not melt the electrodes because the 'hot spot' is restricted to the centre of the filament.

Yun Daniel Park, of Seoul National University said that carbon was one of the earliest filaments used when light bulbs were invented.

'Edison originally used carbon as a filament for his light bulb and here we are going back to the same element, but using it in its pure form – graphene – and at its ultimate size limit – one atom thick.'

Graphene, discovered in the UK, is composed of carbon atoms linked in a hexagonal lattice. 

Its incredible properties include being 200 times stronger than steel by weight, conducting electricity and being nearly transparent.

The discovery of graphene in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two Russian-born scientists at the University of Manchester, earned the pair the Nobel Prize for Physics and knighthoods.

In 2014, a National Graphene Institute was set up in Manchester, with more than £60 million ($94 million) of funding to find uses for the substance.

The discovery of graphene (a molecular model is shown)  in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two Russian-born scientists at the University of Manchester, earned the pair the Nobel Prize for Physics and knighthoods.

GRAPHENE 'POM POMS' COULD MAKE BETTER BATTERIES 

Graphene is the most conductive material in the world, but because it is thin and flat it doesn't have the surface area needed to be used in batteries.

To increase the size and shape of this so-called super-material, scientists in South Korea have used graphene's sheet-like structure to create 'pom-poms'.

The 3D structures were made by dropping graphene oxide into hot solvent - a process that has been likened to deep-frying food.

To increase the surface area of graphene, in order to make it transfer more charge and make it more suitable for use in batteries, scientists at the Yonsei University in Seoul created graphene 'pom-poms' (pictured). These 3D spheres were formed by dropping graphene oxide into hot solvent

Deep-fried pom-poms of graphene could ultimately make batteries in phones and tablets smaller, efficient, and more capable of storing and transferring charge.

Sang-Hoon Park and his colleagues at Yonsei University, in Seoul put flakes of graphene oxide into an ultrasonic nozzle, which used sound waves to create microdroplets.

These microdroplets were when sprayed into a mixture of organic solvent and ascorbic acid, at temperatures of 160°C (320°F).

In the solvent and acid, the graphene oxide was turned into graphene, the water in the droplets evaporated, and the resulting spheres resembled pom-poms.

As they formed, nanosheets in the graphene spilled out from the centre, creating 'waves' of particles.

This created so-called nanochannels, which increased the area in which charge could be transferred.

Early tests with the graphene pom-poms showed that they performed better as electrodes compared to typical sheets of graphene.