A Look at the Next Material

Graphene is a new and revolutionary material in the worlds of science and technology that is transparent to light, flexible and stronger than steel. Considered the best conductor of electricity and heat, graphene has promising potential for developing electronic applications and can be created through a combination of research and innovative technologies

Sometimes, a moment of insight or “revelation” changes the course of a lifetime. For Prof. Doron Naveh, that moment occurred at a conference of the American Physical Society while he worked as a research fellow at Princeton University. “I was in a relatively small room with a bunch of familiar and successful people from the theoretical field that I was working in”, he recalls. “And suddenly, I thought – is this really a satisfying trajectory for the rest of my career?  The contrast between the depth of theoretical research and the circle of people interested in its details made it seem somewhat boring”.

At that same conference, on the other side of the hall, a young researcher named Andre Geim (who would later win the Nobel Prize), was speaking about the newly discovered material – graphene. “He received the attention of a rock star. The hall was absolutely packed, and Prof. Naveh decided that he needed to find his way towards such an exciting new field. The decision led him to explore the world of two-dimensional materials, and today he stands at the forefront of research and development of graphene-based technologies and applications in electronic devices.

Graphene – The World’s Thinnest and Strongest Conductor

Graphene is a revolutionary material in the world of science and technology. It is the best-known conductor of electricity and heat. Graphene is as thin as a single carbon atom, transparent to light, and extremely strong, much stronger than steel. Graphene exists in nature, a single-atom layer of carbon that was extracted from graphite in 2004, as two researchers succeeded in isolating, measuring, and characterizing it. Besides being a strong and highly conductive material, graphene is also inert to ambient and chemically stable under processing and is therefore well fitted for extended work. And it has another advantage – thanks to the stable heat and electrically conductive properties over time, it can be leveraged for applications in the fields of electronics.

Consumption of the chips’ output and computation and communications systems is becoming a very significant “bottleneck” in the advanced electronics industry. Graphene, as a thermal conductor, can help computers and electronic devices operate faster without overheating. “This is a critical technology in places with a high density of microchips, such as huge cloud-based datacenters of giant companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon that also involve the computational loads associated with the progress of Artificial Intelligence, and internet communications. The energy consumption for operating these centers is extremely high, and graphene-based heat dissipation and evacuation applications will passively enhance the performance of electronic components”.

Prof. Naveh and his team have found a way to produce graphene in a scalable manner. Prior to this development, the common uses of graphene were basically in small samples of graphite or production of layers in small models for research purposes. “We have developed industrial production capacity of graphene at the highest possible level – sheets in sizes of one meter long and half a meter wide, at the rate of 2.5 square meters per hour”, he explains.

Thanks to the Israel Innovation Authority’s investment, a unique collaboration led to the creation of a joint startup of Simtal Nano Coatings and Tel Aviv and Bar Ilan Universities. “The Israel Innovation Authority has catalyzed a project in a magnitude that we could never have imagined”, says Prof. Naveh. The research lab of Prof. Naveh and his team participated in the Innovation Authority’s ‘Israel Graphene Consortium’. The consortium strived to apply the unique knowledge developed in academia with the aim of realizing graphene’s potential in the development of future technologies and products. The development of graphene-based products places Israel at the forefront of technology and constitutes a global breakthrough in the ability to utilize graphene’s unique qualities in the electronics industry.

From the Lab to Industry: Challenges and Opportunities

The first significant project undertaken in conjunction with industry was for WAVES – the development of membranes into speakers. The subsequent understanding that research and transition of knowledge to industry also requires validation, led to a collaborative study of smart and especially efficient earphones. This represents a “win-win” scenario because the industry needs to open up to innovations, while academic knowledge must be translated into valid practical applications that meet the needs of the industry”. This approach makes the connection between academia and industry a tremendous advantage and enables technologies to emerge and transform from idea to solution.

Research and development processes frequently begin in an academic laboratory, but they don’t end there. Translating a development into an industrial product requires contending with problems that are not necessarily scientific. “With graphene, for example, we had to prove that the technology complies with industrial standards and can actually be manufactured. Many companies engage in R&D with graphene but only a very few manufacture a product”, says Prof. Naveh.

A further challenge in the transition from the lab to industry is related to the fact that the advanced electronics industry is already established and developed. Introducing a new material into such an industry requires a massive investment over time. As a result, it is mainly the giant companies that have the capabilities necessary for engaging in such a process of joint development and for “diving” into the challenge involved in integrating a new material into technology.

The ability to produce graphene enables control over the material and the product’s unique qualities, and over the price and development of intellectual property, together with the client. This is the “middle road” for startups, especially for the development of an industrial material. Collaboration with the client is necessary to develop an application that demonstrates the material’s capabilities.

The business logic is clear. The client describes his critical need, and the company offers a graphene-based advanced technological solution. In exchange, both parties share the intellectual property. This approach guarantees a giant global company such as Google or Nvidia precedence and availability to innovative technology and provides the developing startup with an opportunity for rapid development and commercialization of the product. This model creates a win-win situation: the giant company receives a solution specifically tailored to its needs and the startup gains access to its guidance and knowledge so that the R&D constitutes a precise solution to the existing technological gap. Furthermore, successful collaboration such as this attracts the attention of additional companies in the market that are interested in buying and developing similar solutions. This creates a positive cycle of innovation and commercial growth that is beneficial to all parties involved.

Funding and Vision in the World of Emerging Technologies

The development of an emerging technology, such as that based on graphene, requires long-term investment and significant support. “For that to happen, you need collaborations with large companies with motivation to invest for the long-term to develop a technological advantage”, Prof. Naveh explains, “and we have both such collaborations and the investment of the Innovation Authority which drove the process”.

Today, the company has a production plant in northern Israel, not far from the Golani Interchange. The process of producing graphene, that can also be performed on the premises of a contractor or client, produces almost no waste. The products are made of carbon, in a form that also exists in nature, and the goal for the future is to use more green energy in the production process.

The vision of integrating groundbreaking research and industrial production that creates a technological advantage is becoming a reality and is expected to significantly impact both the economy and society. Graphene is an excellent example of an emerging technology that needs support: it has unique qualities that did not exist in previous materials; the material is still in transition from academic research to industrial application; its uses can change entire industries, from electronics to medicine; and a large financial investment is required to develop new production methods and practical applications.