Graphene is already revered for its remarkable strength and electrical conductivity — properties that have sent researchers scrambling to use it in applications from tennis rackets to flexible electronics.
Now the one-atom-thick lattice of carbon has added another string to its bow. Three research groups have independently shown that graphene can efficiently convert infrared light into electrical signals, as part of devices known as photodetectors. As fast and accurate translators of optical data, graphene photodetectors could speed up computers and significantly cut their power consumption. The devices, each with a slightly different architecture, are reported in Nature Photonics.
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