NUS researchers offer solution in fight against fake graphene
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NUS researchers offer solution in fight against fake graphene

　　A lack of quality control in the graphene market has led to inferior products being touted as high-grade. In response, a National University of Singapore (NUS) research team has developed what it says is a reliable way to test graphene quality.　　Ever since the isolation of graphene was first achieved in 2004, there has been an explosion in graphene-related research and development, with hundreds of business opportunists producing graphene to capitalise on this rapidly expanding industry. However, a new study by researchers from the NUS has uncovered a major problem – a lack of production standards has led to many cases of poor quality graphene from suppliers. Such practices can impede the progress of research that depend fundamentally on the use of high-quality graphene.　　“It is alarming to uncover that producers are labelling black powders as graphene and selling them for top dollar, while in reality, they contain mostly cheap graphite," said Professor Antonio Castro Neto, Director of the NUS Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, who led the study.　　"There is a strong need to set up stringent standards for graphene characterisation and production to create a healthy and reliable graphene market worldwide."　　Graphene is typically produced by exfoliating graphite into a powder, submerging this into a liquid, and then separating the tiniest graphene flakes by using sound energy to vibrate the mixture. The aim of this synthesis is to produce the thinnest graphene possible. Pure graphene would be just one atomic layer thick, however the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) states that stacks of graphene flakes up to ten layers thick can still behave like graphene.　　With this in mind, Prof Castro Neto and his team set out to develop a systematic and reliable method for establishing the quality of graphene samples from around the world. They were able to achieve this by using a wide range of analytical techniques and tested samples from many suppliers.　　Upon analysing samples from over 60 different providers from the Americas, Asia and Europe, the NUS team discovered that the majority contained less than 10 per cent of what can be considered graphene flakes. The bulk of the samples was graphite powder that was not exfoliated properly.　　“Whether producers of the counterfeit graphene are aware of the poor quality is unclear. Regardless, the lack of standards for graphene production gives rise to bad quality of the material sold in the open market. This has been stalling the development of the future applications,” elaborated Prof Castro Neto.　　Graphite powder and graphene have wildly different properties, so any research conducted under the pretext that the sample was pure graphene would give inaccurate results. In addition, just one of the samples tested in the study contained more than 40 per cent of high-quality graphene. Some samples were even contaminated with other chemicals used in the production process. These findings mean that researchers could be wasting valuable time and money performing experiments on a product that is falsely advertised, says NUS.　　“This is the first ever study to analyse statistically the world production of graphene flakes. Considering the important challenges related to health, climate, and sustainability that graphene may be able to solve, it is crucial that research is not hindered in this way,” explained Prof Castro Neto.　　With this discovery, and the development of a reliable testing procedure, graphene samples may now be held to a higher standard.　　“We hope that our results will speed up the process of standardisation of graphene within ISO as there is a huge market need for that. This will urge graphene producers worldwide to improve their methods to produce a better, properly characterised product that could help to develop real-world applications,” said Prof Castro Neto.　　In addition, NUS believes that testing graphene using a universal and standardised way has the potential to ensure easy quantitative comparisons between data produced from different laboratories and users around the world.
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Release time：2018-12-03 00:00 reading：9123 Continue reading>>
STMicroelectronics launches ultra-low-power Sigfox Monarch-ready solution
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STMicroelectronics launches ultra-low-power Sigfox Monarch-ready solution

　　STMicroelectronics says it is the first chip maker to develop and market a certified solution for seamless global, ultra-low-power, and long-range wireless IoT connectivity enabling the Monarch worldwide tracking and positioning service from Sigfox, a lead IoT service provider.　　ST’s solution lets users create region-independent smart objects that connect automatically to the local Sigfox network anywhere in the world, empowering inter-regional mobility, geolocation, and asset tracking without relying on more expensive GPS or GNSS positioning devices. These could include smart-baggage products that aid tracking in airports or transport hubs, or innovations for supply-chain management and air or rail transportation in the industrial asset-management market, such as smart pallets. Regional independence also allows makers of connected smart objects such as consumer or commercial IoT devices to standardise products for multiple export markets, simplifying manufacturing and logistics.　　ST is providing a complete Software Development Kit (SDK) that runs on STM32, for Sigfox Monarch networking, supported by development kits, reference designs, and tools that accelerate project completion.　　The fully certified Sigfox Monarch solution is based on ST’s S2-LP ultra-low-power, long-range, sub-1GHz radio, which is automatically tuned on the local regional Sigfox frequency band, across all relevant worldwide zones (RC1 to RC6), enabling seamless connectivity to the Global Sigfox network and geolocation services.　　For processing demanding applications, the ARM Cortex-M4 based devices are said to enable efficient data pre-processing and localised AI, reducing network traffic requirements.　　To jump-start new product development, ST’s S2-LP radio is also available for the STM32 Open Development Environment (ODE) with X-NUCLEO-S2868A1/-S2915A1 (upcoming in late Q4’18) expansion boards and X-CUBE-SFXS2LP1 Sigfox Ready software expansion pack.　　The SDK also supports a dual-radio reference solution powered by the S2-LP and BlueNRG-2 Bluetooth low energy SoC, design to offer easy in-field provisioning, maintenance and configuration of the device through a convenient smartphone app.　　The design can be enhanced with the STSAFE secure element for robust cyber-protection and with ST’s comprehensive industrial portfolio of motion and environmental MEMS sensors.
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Release time：2018-10-31 00:00 reading：3054 Continue reading>>
Secure processing subsystem based on <span style='color:red'>ARC</span>’s SEM processors
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Secure processing subsystem based on ARC’s SEM processors

　　Recognising that security touches all the markets its addresses, Synopsys’ ARC division has launched a preverified hardware and software IP package intended to secure high value embedded applications.　　Called the DesignWare ARC secure IP subsystem, the solution features either the SEM110 or 120D security processor, both featuring SecureShield technology. This, says the company, enables the creation of a trusted execution environment.　　Rich Collins, product marketing manager, IP subsystems, said: It’s based on the SEM processor, which was launched last year. It has additional security features, including uniform timing to prevent side channel analysis.”　　Collins believes security is now important at all levels, as product complexity moves ‘down and to the left’. “This pre verified solution addresses a range of attack agents.”　　The subsystem addresses three potential areas of attack: the network; the device itself; and the chips inside. Looking to counter attacks, it　　includes software and hardware accelerated cryptography options, as well as secure instruction and data memory controller. Collins noted: “It has a secure external memory controller, much like a small cache with built in encryption. It handles instructions and data, reducing latency. Because external memory is insecure, you can keep code in on chip memory and decrypt it on the fly as it’s used.”　　However, the level of cryptography in the end chip will be defined by area versus performance trade offs. “The dedicated hardware engine has specialised instruction, but an external interface allows instructions to be added which accelerate software cryptography,” Collins said. “Embedded SIM customers see this a ‘happy medium’, giving them more performance without taking a gate count hit.”　　Hardware security features are complemented by software, including a NIST-validated cryptography library, the SecureShield Runtime Library and secure boot support.
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Release time：2017-09-20 00:00 reading：2742 Continue reading>>
Could carbon nanomaterials replace scarce metals?
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Could carbon nanomaterials replace scarce metals?

　　A survey at Chalmers University of Technology shows that there are potential technology-based solutions that could replace many scarce metals with carbon nanomaterials, such as graphene.　　Scarce metals such as tin, silver, tungsten and indium are used in most electronic equipment and are both rare and difficult to extract since the workable concentrations are very small. This ensures the metals are highly sought after – and their extraction is a breeding ground for conflicts, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where they fund armed conflicts.　　In addition, they are difficult to recycle profitably since they are often present in small quantities in various components such as electronics.　　Rickard Arvidsson and Bj?rn Sandén, researchers in environmental systems analysis at Chalmers University of Technology, have examined an alternative solution: substituting carbon nanomaterials for the scarce metals. These substances – the best known of which is graphene – are strong materials with good conductivity, like scarce metals.　　“Now technology development has allowed us to make greater use of the common element carbon,” says Sandén. “Today there are many new carbon nanomaterials with similar properties to metals. It’s a welcome new track, and it’s important to invest in both the recycling and substitution of scarce metals from now on.”　　The Chalmers researchers have studied the main applications of 14 different metals, and by reviewing patents and scientific literature have investigated the potential for replacing them by carbon nanomaterials. The results provide a unique overview of research and technology development in the field.　　According to Arvidsson and Sandén there is already a shift away from the use of scarce metals to carbon nanomaterials taking place.　　“There are potential technology-based solutions for replacing 13 out of the 14 metals by carbon nanomaterials in their most common applications. The technology development is at different stages for different metals and applications, but in some cases such as indium and gallium, the results are very promising,” Arvidsson says.　　“This offers hope,” says Sandén. “In the debate on resource constraints, the focus has long been on recycling and reuse. Substitution is a potential alternative that has not been explored to the same extent and as the resource issues become more pressing, we now have more tools to work with.”　　The research findings were recently published in the Journal of Cleaner Production. Arvidsson and Sandén stress that there are significant potential benefits from reducing the use of scarce metals, and they hope to be able to strengthen the case for more research and development in the field.
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Release time：2017-09-20 00:00 reading：2801 Continue reading>>

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