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Industrial & Academic Knowledge

Dissemination on the Growth

& Exploitation of Low-Dimensional

Carbon Nanomaterials

(USA Nano Research Tour)

June - July 2013

M. T. Cole

Cambridge University

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellow

Industrial production depends on technology

- Sir W. L. Churchill : Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mid-Century Convocation, 1949.

Dr. M T Cole CEng, CPhys, PhD (Cantab), MEng (Oxon), MIET, MIEEE, MIoN, MInstP, AHEA

Isaac Newton Trust Research Fellow Dir. of Studies in Engineering, Tutor, Dep. Admissions Tutor

St Edmund's College | University of Cambridge Dept. of Engineering | Electrical Engineering Division

9 JJ Thomson Avenue | CB3 0FA | United Kingdom

Tel / Mob: +44(0) 1223 748304 | +44(0) 7929 761337 Fax: +44(0) 1223 748348

Email: mtc35@cam.ac.uk | matt_cole140@msn.com Skype: matt.cole_cam.uni

http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/~mtc35/ http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/edm/people/ http://www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/fellows/

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Figure 1. The graphene building block. Schematic representation of the various types of nanocarbons all of which are based on the graphene unit. Graphene can be wrapped to form the 0D fullerenes (left), rolled into 1D nanotubes (centre) and stacked into 3D graphite (right).

Figure 2. Size of graphene and carbon nanotubes compared to a human hair. Examples of our large-area chemical vapour deposition of CNTs and graphene.

Abstract This report summarises the 2013 Travelling Fellowship of Dr Matthew

Cole, a Research Fellow in the Department of Engineer at Cambridge

University, during a four week research tour of the United States of

America between June and July 2013. During the Fellowship I

investigated the state-of-the-art in nanotechnologies and the efficacy of

the various models adopted to successfully commercialise emerging

materials, such as graphene and carbon nanotubes, and devices based

thereon. I also probed the potential mechanisms used to overcome

market entrance barriers to maximise wealth creation for UK inc. During

the tour I met with Professors, postdocs, PhD students and industry

researchers alike and spent time at the universities of Stanford,

CalTech, Princeton, Yale, Chapel Hill, Harvard and MIT, as well as the

Californian research home of IBM and a number of smaller companies,

all of which were focusing on the development and commercialisation

of novel nanotechnologies. This work was supported by the Winston

Churchill Memorial Trust (http://www.wcmt.org.uk/).

Keywords: nanotechnology, carbon nanotubes, graphene, chemical vapour deposition, commercialisation, international collaboration, emerging markets

1. Introduction

In the past three decades an increasing number of exotic low-dimensional nanostructured carbon allotropes have

been discovered. In order of decreasing dimensionality these include graphene (2D), carbon nanotubes (1D) and the

fullerenes (0D). Graphene, a single atomic plane of graphite, that is 0.3 nm thick and is widely heralded as a paradigm

shifting material due to its transparency and flexibility, forms the fundamental unit of the fullerenes, nanotubes and

graphite and can be wrapped, rolled and stacked accordingly to form each (Figure 1). Owing to the intriguing size-

dependent optical, mechanical, magnetic and electronic properties of many materials, combined with the development

of ever increasingly high resolution electron microscopes, the field of nanotechnology was spawned in the mid-1950s

and has burgeoned ever-since.

The term ‘nanotechnology’ refers to “the creation of useful materials and devices through the control of matter at the

nanometre (10-9

m) length scale” – dimensions that are more than 1000 times smaller than the diameter of a human

hair (Figure 2). At such scales a wide range of novel and potentially useful phenomena, not present in the bulk

counterparts, become accessible. The strong association between carbon nanotechnology and technological

exploitation began with the auspicious discovery of carbon fibres, the macroscopic analogue of the carbon nanotube,

by T. Edison who incorporated these pyrolysed carbonaceous filaments into some of the very first incandescent light

bulbs more than 100 years ago, and the useful of carbon in many applications has not gone unnoticed since.

Research on nanoscale carbon-based materials has developed at an exceptionally fast-paced. In the last decade alone various routes have been developed to artificially synthesis carbon nanotubes and graphene by chemical vapour deposition. However, though these are technological achievements in their own right, achieving a true understanding on the commercial exploitation of these novel emerging materials lies in knowledge dissemination between international research institutes, companies, and those involved in field of nanotechnology.

2. Aims UK Inc. has a humble background with regards to the high-technology materials industry, especially relative to the USA and China. This is somewhat striking given the global strength of UK universities and their internationally renowned facilities. Nevertheless, there is often poor connectivity and research synergy between universities and international conglomerate companies.

Nano (ηαηοσ) – From the Latin (nānus) meaning ‘dwarf’, today describes structures smaller than < 100 nm.

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Figure 3: Itinerary. Insert: Nanotechnology “hot spots” in the USA, adapted from [1].

Globally the USA is one of the most prolific scientific publishers and leads scientific research across many fields. Whilst, historically, many physics and engineering breakthroughs occurred within Europe, recently there has been a distinct global normalisation with many of the most critical breakthroughs of the last 50 years have occurred in the USA, particularly in regards to the development of modern day computing. As such, Anglo-American relations are evidently critical to ensure on-going development of emerging technologies. Unfortunately, recent evidence suggests that transatlantic collaborations lag far behind other international collaborations. Nanotechnology is a burgeoning field consisting of a multitude of exciting emerging materials and technologies that afford truly novel functionality across a wide range of applications. From energy storage and displays, to flexible electronic skin and DNA sequencing, the evident key to the successful development and consequent commercialisation of any nanotechnology is in part attributed to a clear and well-rounded understanding of the research field.

A central aim of this Fellowship was to increase international knowledge dissemination of current advances in carbon nanotechnology research, to broaden my knowledge of recent extensive nanotechnology developments - with a particular emphasis on commercialisation and industrialisation, and to develop and maintain international collaborative relationships with leading researchers throughout the USAs nanotechnology “hot spots” (insert Figure 3). During the 4000 mile research tour I spent time at seven of the USAs top Universities, the east coast research home of IBM, as well as a number of smaller companies researching, and successfully commercialising, various nanostructured materials and optoelectronic devices. This project involved engaging with Professors, postdocs, research staff and industrialists in order to better understand the state-of-the-art to elucidate routes to successful commercialisation, increase visibility of UK research, to promote increased transatlantic collaborations, and how to efficiently achieve and further develop nanocarbon devices for the emerging UK nanotechnology inc.

3. Itinerary

As depicted in Figure 3; A. Palo Alto, CA - Stanford University, IBM

(25th June-2

nd July)

B. Los Angeles, CA - California Institute of Technology (3

nd July-4

th July)

C. New York City, NY - Princeton University, Yale University (4

th July-8

th July)

D. Boston, MA - Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ACS Materials, NanoLab

(9th July-16

th July)

E. Raleigh, NC - University of North Carolina, XinRay (17

th July-19

th July)

4. Travelogue

After a gruelling 23 hours travelling from Cambridge, UK, I arrived in sunny Paolo Alto, CA, USA. I had finally made it

to the first of six hotels during the transcontinental research tour. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted in ‘Silicon

Valley’ - the birth place of some of the most influential gadgets we all use on a day-to-day basis, by an unusual heat

wave with temperatures soring to more than 35oC; a distinct and welcomed change after leaving a cold and damp

‘Silicon Fen’ back in the UK.

Stanford University (25

th June-2

nd July)

My host for the morning of the June 27th was Mr Gregory Pitner, a first year PhD student of Prof. Philip Wong

(https://nano.stanford.edu/) based in the Electrical Engineering Division at Stanford University. I was shown around the extensive shared satellite facilities across the centralised campus and had the opportunity to discuss my work on aligned CNT growth and how it pertained to their research. Prof Wong, who is based in the Centre for Integrated Systems, was kind enough to invite me their combined CNT group lunch and group meeting. Here they demonstrated a clear, concise and pragmatic approach to the use of CNTs in field effect transistors and demonstrated their mature processing capabilities at an industrially viable four inch wafer scale [2, 3]. Here I made contact with Dr Seunghyun Lee, a postdoctoral researcher of Prof. Wong, who works with 2D nanomaterials, with a focus on graphene.

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Discussion on possible collaborative work and future research goals are on-going. In the afternoon of June 28

th I visited Prof. Evan Reed in the

Department of Materials Science. Prof. Reed’s group is theory orientated with a particular interest in graphene and other two dimensional materials (http://www.stanford.edu/group/evanreed/staff/evanreed.html) to whom I presented my research. Prof. Reed’s theoretical works often pre-empt, and often dictate, experiments conducted within the field. As such, he aims to foresee future trends within the field of materials science. Following the meeting we discussed the future of two-dimensional materials where he revealed his views on the technological importance of the emerging metal dichalcogenides and other two-dimensional materials as mediators towards two-dimensional, sandwich-like stacked electronics of the future. Monday 1

st July commenced at midday with a meeting with Prof. Olav

Solgaard (http://www.stanford.edu/group/sml/cgi-bin/index.php?research) who gave an excellent overview of his research on micromechanical optoelectronic systems. Prof. Solgaards innovative and extremely practical research couples deep optical physics with practical engineering. He focuses on the integration of micro-scale photonic crystals and micromechanical systems into real-world sensing applications such as atomic force microscopy and endoscopy to facilitate real-time in-vivo cancer metastasis monitoring. In the afternoon I was shown around the Chemical Engineering Department by Mr Alex Chortos, a second year PhD student in the group (some 40 strong) of Prof. Zhenan Bao (http://baogroup.stanford.edu/), Professor of Chemical Engineering and David Filo and Jerry Yang Faculty Fellow. Prof. Bao’s researcher focuses on the development of flexible, stretchable electronics and energy devices such as flexible carbon nanotube/graphene transistors, electronic skin, graphene nanoelectronics and all carbon solar cells [4,

5]. Following a tour of their extensively equipped laboratories, filled with a whole host of custom-built, esoteric, and unquestionably novel organic deposition systems, the afternoon concluded with me presenting my research to two of Prof. Bao’s postdoctoral researchers working on carbon nanomaterials who were extremely interested in my graphene research and my wider industrial activities. One of the most exciting visits on the east coast tour was to the Almaden Research Centre in San Jose, California, a research hub of the International Business Machines Corporation, or IBM as it is better known by most (http://www.research.ibm.com/labs/almaden/index.shtml). Tuesday 2

nd July started bright and early. At 6.30am I set out to catch the CalTrain south. After two hours of travelling I arrived

at IBMs east coast research facility. Set in a panoramic mountainous country park here was the unassuming source of some of the most critical breakthroughs in electrical engineering. Here I meet with Dr Spike Narayan were we discussed the goals of the research tour in addition to IBMs relationship with the surrounding Universities and their various mechanisms to foster regional and national scientific advancement. I then presented a one hour technical seminar on “Graphene & Carbon Nanotube based Field Emission Devices” to 25 members of the IBM research staff. Following a Q&A session, Dr Geoff Burr discussed the merits of his self-proclaimed ‘meandering research career’ and

offered some insightful routes on achieving scientific impact. Then Dr Don Bethune, the co-discoverer of the single-walled carbon nanotube [6] who, with S. Iijima, is widely credited with spawning the CNT-age, explained his research on CNTs during the early 1990s and how he came to find these novel nanomaterials. Dr Bethune joined us for lunch providing me a great opportunity to probe his views on engineering and the integration of CNTs, which has still yet to occur some two decades after their initial discovery. A tall, well spoken, and outstandingly intelligent individual, Dr Bethune explained some of his extremely wide ranging current and past interests from CNT synthesis by arc discharge, magnetic properties of metal encapsulated fullerenes to quantum cryptography. Following lunch I was shown around some of their lab facilities, all of which were focussed around 6 inch wafer processing employing largely custom-built systems in core facilities surrounded peripherally by the office spaces to ensure easy access from the lab to the office. Dr Andreas Hilscher then introduced IBMs scanning tunnelling microscopes that are capable of moving individual molecules and atoms with atomic precision (See; ‘A Boy and His Atom: The World’s Smallest Movie’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSCX78-8-q0). Dr Jim

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Spohrer, Director of Global University Programs then discussed IBMs future goals and their envisaged “Smart City” initiative which embraces emerging sensor technologies to ensure efficient, energy conscious cities. We also discussed IBMs stance on the acquisition of small embryonic technology companies where he informed me that around 2/3

rds of the companies IBM secure are University based spin-outs. In the

afternoon my tour took me to meet with the research group of Prof. Hongjie Dai (http://www.stanford.edu/group/dailab/) at Stanford University. Prof. Dai, who is ranked 7

th in the world’s top 100 chemists by

Thomson Reuters, was kind enough to talk through his current research efforts, particularly focusing on his work at the interface between biology and nanomaterials, such as the use of lipid coated single-walled CNTs for near infra-red II (1100 nm) deep tissue real-time imaging of the vascular system [7]. My visit to Stanford University and IBM revealed that the success of the CA nanotechnology community is, in part at least, attributed to the openly collaborative nature of the region which was nurtured, if not facilitated by the simultaneous development of fundamental science coupled with

application orientated outputs. Moreover, the success of Stanford Universities academics are evidently mediated by the openly inter-disciplinarity of the Professors. Indeed, almost of the groups I meet with where working directly at the interface between what would historically be deemed dissimilar fields. Dr Narayan, of IBM, encapsulated this observation succinctly with IBMs “T for success”, where he denoted successful research through “breadth and depth”. In the evening of Tuesday 2

nd July I flew to Los Angeles, CA.

CalTech (3

rd July)

The CalTech one-day stop-over saw me shift the emphasis of the tour slightly with more of a focus on photonics applications. Prof. Kerry Vahala (http://www.vahala.caltech.edu/), of the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), was unfortunately away on business during the visit, however Dr Li and Dr Li, two postdoctoral researchers in the group, where kind enough to introduce their work. Both detailed their micro-toroid, micro resonator and low-loss on chip optical connects they have been developing. In the afternoon I visited the Energy Frontier Research Centre group, a research consortium composed of leading USA Universities working collectively on the development of solar energy systems and photovoltaics application, headed by and ran under the auspices of Prof. Harry Atwater, the Howard Hughes Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science, at CalTech (http://daedalus.caltech.edu/). Over a pizza-lunch-meeting Prof Atwaters’ research members, and later Prof. Atwater himself, gave a thrilling overview of their research as well as those of the wider consortium. Dr Victor Brar, a postdoc in the group gave a lab tour where we discussed their work on graphene growth during which time he highlighted his efforts on chemical vapour deposited graphene and its use in infra-red plasmonic systems. On Thursday 4

th July, Independence Day and a national holiday in the USA, I flew from Los Angeles to New York to

begin the East Coast phase of the tour. Princeton (5

th July)

Marking the mid-point of the research tour, the first stop on the east coast was to Princeton University on Friday the 5th

of July. The 8 am NJ transit train from Penn Station, New York, took me to Princeton; a small town dominated by the 260 year old University. Arguably a stylistic analogue of Oxbridge, UK, the verdant tree lined boulevards complimented the stark 18

th century architecture.

The day’s activities were in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The day began by meeting with Prof. Clair Gmachl (http://qcllab.princeton.edu/), Professor of Electrical Engineering, who very generously gave a lab tour and talked through her specific research and, as the Dean of the Engineering Department, provided a valuable overview of the wider Department. Later that morning the postdoctoral and PhD students of Prof. Hakan Tureci (https://www.ee.princeton.edu/tureci/doku.php), a theoretician working on quantum cascade lasers and quantum optics, both of which were implemented with the largely experimental group of Prof Gmachl, presented their research and discussed the rewarding, symbiosis between Princetons theoretical and applied groups. Following a quick tour of the beautiful centralised campus, Dr. Liangcheng Zhou – a postdoctoral research fellow of Prof. Stephen Chou (http://www.princeton.edu/~chouweb/) showed us their dedicated lab facilities including their ultra-high resolution custom nano-imprint lithography systems – a patterning technique invented by Prof. Chou and his team that he has successfully commercialised. Prof. Chou’s research on nano-imprint lithography is perhaps one of the few technologically viable, large area, low cost and rapid lithographic techniques available to date. Their

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ultra-fast high-resolution nano-patterning [8] offers an alternative to costly and time consuming electron beam lithography for example, and is capable of defining features as small as 10 nm on industrially compatible wafer scales. Yale (8

th July)

After an uncomfortably hot and humid weekend, with the local humidity reaching in excess of 92%, I left New York City (evening of the 7

th July) and

travelled north toward Yale University from Grand Central Station and arriving in New Haven, CT. The 8

th July was a particularly busy day. The morning began with a meeting

with Prof. Mark Reed (http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/). Prof. Reed gave an outstanding overview of his research on ultra-sensitive nanowire biomarker sensors and allowed me to take a look around their clean room facility. Three postdoctoral researchers of Prof. Jack Harris (http://www.yale.edu/harrislab/) introduced their low-temperature membrane optics work as a platform to study detailed electron-electron interactions were we also touched on the use of CVD graphene as a possible material. The afternoon conclude with a meeting with Prof. Hui Cao (http://www.eng.yale.edu/caolab/), Professor of Applied Physics, who discussed in detail her stimulating research on the use of complex disorder films and wave shaping using spatial light modulators. This evening I took the train to Boston, MA. Harvard University (9

th July-16

th July)

Annually ranked first in the World for its academic excellence, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, is home to many leaders in nanotechnology. The 9

th of July saw me meet with the PhD and postdoctoral students of Prof. Donhee

Ham, the Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering and of Applied Physics School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, (http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~donhee/donheeham.htm) with whom I had worked with some six years prior. Here I was introduced to their recent work on graphene thin film transistors for DNA sensing via charge transfer and channel doping, as well as their work on inter-cellular nano-probing and novel plasmonic media exploiting two-dimensional electron gas systems [9]. The afternoon concluded with a tour, given by Dr Andrew Magyar – an imaging specialist at the centralised Centre for Nanoscale Systems (http://www.cns.fas.harvard.edu/) facility, part of the USAs National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network, supported by the National Science Foundation. On 10

th July, Young Ik Sohn, a first year PhD student of Prof. Marko Lončar (http://nano-optics.seas.harvard.edu/),

summarised the groups work on diamond photonic crystals and Prof. Evelyn Hu’s (http://hugroup.seas.harvard.edu/) postdoc, Dr Kasey Russell, then on July 10, introduced their research on GaN and hydrothermally synthesised ZnO for us in photovoltaic cells. Prof. Charle Lieber’s (http://cmliris.harvard.edu/), perhaps the seminal expert on all things nano, and who was ranked 1

st in the World’s top 100 chemist by Thomson Reuters in the decade 2000-2010, kindly

allowed a visit to his lab. Nestled in the basement of the Chemistry Department, Robert Day and Max Mankin, PhD students in the group presented their work on the synthesis and controlled crystallographic engineering of various nanowire heterostructures [10, 11]. Following this I was given a lab tour of their home-built extensive chemical vapour deposition reactors, bio and wet chemistry labs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (11

th July-12

th July)

Ranked as one of the best engineering research institutes in the World, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is in stark architectural contrast to it resplendent reputation. The 11

th July was the first wet day of the tour and it

saw me making my way through the concrete campus to meet a fifth year PhD student, Javier Sanchez-Yamagishi, working with Prof. Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, the Mitsui Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics (http://web.mit.edu/physics/people/faculty/jarillo-herrero_pablo.html). Following an espresso fuelled introduction to their low-temperature electron transport studies on graphene [12, 13] and other two dimensional materials, I was shown their mechanical exfoliation facilities and low temperature measurement systems. As the meeting was concluding Prof. Jarillo-Herrero himself popped by to say hello and he praised the concept of the tour profusely. In the afternoon Prof. Henry Smith, Associate Director of MIT's Nano Structures Laboratory, and the President and CEO of LumArray (http://www.lumarray.com/) - a spin out company based on his research work on maskless optical lithography using micro-lenses addressed with spatial light modulators – outlined his research on ultra-high resolution optical lithography techniques using Fresnel lensing. On the 12

th July I met with Prof. Karl Berggren (http://www.rle.mit.edu/qnn/),

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Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, head of the Quantum Nanostructures and Nanofabrication Group, and Director of the Nanostructures Laboratory in the Research Laboratory of Electronics. Prof. Berggren’s research on field emission toward the development of a coherent, ultra-bright X-ray source was very similar, in part, to my own research and was of particular interest to me. Dr Yachin Ivry, a postdoctoral researcher in the group, arranged a full day of meetings from 0930 to 1730 with Prof. Berggren kindly providing lunch in a nearby restaurant. Throughout the day I met with each member of the group with each of them giving a 30 minute overview of their research, during which time I also gave a 20 min group seminar entitled “Graphene & Carbon Nanotube based Field Emission Devices”. Unfortunately Dr Richard Hobbs and Yujia Yang, the members of the research group working on field emission, were attending a conference on vacuum electronics, though Prof. Berggren kindly invited me back the following week to meet with them. On Monday 15

th July I meet with Richard Ploss (contact@acsmaterial.com), founder and VP of sale for ACS Materials

(15th July) (http://www.acsmaterial.com/), a recent start-up company and leader in CVD graphene production who

supply both academics and industry worldwide. We discussed the inception and formation of the company at the time of the graphene bubble in 2011, as well as the potential future of the company. He evidenced a firm belief that the market would ‘continue to grow’, as it has year-on-year since the companies beginning. He also stressed that ACS will continue to broaden its catalogue and that further materials characterisations is on-going for their existing materials. A shift in their adopted model is also likely he noted, suggesting that increased in-house growth is likely to occur over the next few years though a significant set-up cost for equipment makes this challenging. One of the major stops on the tour was to NanoLab, Inc. (179 Bear Hill Road Waltham, MA 02451, http://www.nano-lab.com/team.html) in the afternoon of Monday 15

th July. NanoLabs expertise lies in the fabrication of novel nanostructured carbon devices and

carbon nanotube materials and whose market is predominately the R&D sector. Here I met with Dr David Carnaha (dcarnahan@nano-lab.com), the NanoLab President, which started developing carbon nanotube-based products in 1999. Dr Carnahan gave a guided tour around their growth and device fabrication facilities, during which I saw perhaps the largest tube furnace I have yet to see throughout my research career. Dr Carnahan also introduced the range or products they are currently working on such as flexible nanostructured vales and stretchable carbon/polyurethane composites. I then presented my research on carbon nanotubes and graphene to Dr Carnahan, Dr Morgan and Dr Nicholas, that latter being nanotechnologists employed by NanoLab. I visited the research group of Prof. Eric Mazur, Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics, (http://mazur.harvard.edu/) on the 16

th July.

Unfortunately Prof. Mazur and most of his group were attending a workshop in Italy at the time of my visit however I was fortunate to be shown around by Ms Seungyeon Kang (Sally), a final year PhD student working on novel nanostructured meta-materials defined by spatially controlled optical reduction of silver impregnated polymers. Sally presented the wide range of research themes in the group which were broadly categorised as; apex-perforated nano-pyramids that support tip-plasmonic enhancement to increase the membrane porosity of cells, fine structured silicon black – for optical coatings - and thin film TiO2 [14] fabricated by femto-second excitation with simultaneous doping during irradiation to form trap states. The groups other research focussed on silica and TiO2 microphotonics, and nanophotonics using silver doped polymers that are optically reduced to fabricate novel three dimensional meta-materials. The final part of Prof. Mazurs research work is based on his refreshing passion for broader Science Education, an important aspect that sets him apart from many other academics world-wide. In the afternoon I met with Dr Richard Hobbs and Yujia Yang, a postdoctoral fellow and PhD student, respectively, of Prof. Karl Berggren at MIT, with whom I meet earlier in the tour. We spoke extensively on their research efforts toward a table top coherent X-ray generator based on photoemission of electrons employing tip plasmonic enhancement using 50 nm tall gold nanorods. Dr Hobbs then showed me their electron emission system. Early the next morning (17

th July), at 6am, I took what was planned to be a 15 hour train from Boston, via New York to

Raleigh, NC - my last stop of the tour. Due to train breakdowns, delays in Washington DC, and heat problems the journey took 18 hours in total. Nevertheless, I finally made it safely to my final destination. Here I visited XinRay Systems (18

th July) (7020 Kit Creek Rd, Cedar Fork, NC 27709, http://xinraysystems.com/), a

high-level technology sibling company of XinTech, a carbon nanotube ink manufacturing company spun-out of the nearby University of Chapel Hill by Prof. Otto Zhou. XinRay has a portfolio of medical diagnostic equipment such as static CT scanners – a product of their strong earlier collaborative relationship with Siemens – as well, more recently, many extremely impressive static CT border control and inspection equipment, all of which are based on multiple emitter X-ray platforms using electrophorectically deposited CNTs. Dr Moritz Beckmann (mbeckmann@xinraysystems.com) kindly gave a tour of their facilities showing me their various multi-emitter X-ray sources, some containing more than 100 individual X-ray sources, which they use to produce real-time three dimensional images. Following lunch we made our way to the University of Chapel Hill, a beautiful campus university

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founded in 1789. Here I meet Professor Otto Zhou and his research team who now work on tomosynthesis and biological imaging using the XinRay multi-source X-ray tubes, which he helped develop in his earlier research career. Early the following day I flew back to the UK from Raleigh International Airport having established a great many connections and having learnt a tremendous amount about successful lab structure, routes to forming successful research groups and achieving research impact, technology commercialisation routes, as well as many novel uses of emerging nanotechnologies in addition to the broader benefits of University and Nationwide collaborations and nanotechnology networks. Please note that many of the laboratories I visited did not permit photography due to industrial and academic

sensitivity.

6. Conclusions & Recommendations As predicted, university involvement in the tour was achieved relatively straight-forwardly with many groups providing unprecedented access to their current research themes, future goals as well as their laboratory spaces and facilities. Contrastingly, many companies declined the invitation, though around 15% agreed. I will endeavour to maintain the relationships nucleated during the research tour and have offered the hosts tours of our Cambridge facilities. The research tour extended my existing knowledge base on the growth and applications of various nanomaterials as well as the many ways in which universities and industries interact. As a case in point, IBM supports local universities a great deal by hosting PhD students and in the provision of internships. IBM acts as an excellent model for any international conglomerate on the ways in which to fruitfully foster a symbiotic university-industry relationship. ACS Materials, an early start-up company, exemplified the ‘grow and sell’ model. By offering high quality materials and a broad catalogue, ACS has formed a strong client base and has experienced year-on-year growth. Analogous to the dotcom boom on the 1990s, this is not to be unexpected given the current hype and consequent graphene bubble. Nanolab, on the other hand, though equipped with essentially the same facilities, adopt a slightly higher degree of esotericism. Their product range is less materials-centric, focussing primarily on the final application rather on the growth and sale of the material itself. They function on value-adding through engineering. Indeed, XinRay too adopted a similar model, though to a much greater extent via macro engineering rather than nanoengineering. Instead of having a wide portfolio of various novel applications, as in the case of NanoLab, XinRay produce a few high-end products that are extremely developed and which are focussed towards a specific market – static 3D CT tomography. Evidently, all these companies were extremely successful in their own right, and each commercialisation model has its own pros and cons. Nevertheless, a common feature in all was the high initial capital costs required to purchase and/or build the required chemical vapour deposition reactors required to produce the nanomaterials. However, this is where the similarities end. The ‘grow and sell’ model has a lower barrier to market entrance. Once a recipe for a given material, most recently graphene in the case of ACS, has been developed and extensively characterised; which itself is a relatively short process often taking less than a year, then the protocol just requires on-going refinement and monitoring with time resulting in somewhat guaranteed revenue. This does however assume constant demand, which in the case of emerging materials like graphene, is expected by many to be somewhat transient with a half-life of the order of 10 years or so due to rapidly decreasing costs due to rapidly increasing competition, as exemplified with the carbon nanotube boom a decade ago. This will limit market lifetime and will certainly increase overall competitiveness dramatically, killing off many newer companies. The UK may have already missed this insertion period. Nanolab on the other hand adopts an iterative scheme for each particular nano application they develop, resulting in costly R&D periods which are often partly supported through government initiatives, whilst focussed market companies, such as XinRay, limit the materials development and focus on the final product, again requiring even more extensive initial capital. Though increasing the initial entrance barriers, these additional development periods help to buffer such companies by the provision of extensive IP and patents, which larger conglomerates are often particularly interested in. Evidently, all three models are required for a truly competitive market place. Moreover, all three are required in product development as the ‘grow and sell’ companies are often the first port of call for those working on fundamental and more proof-of-principle devices, often in university environments. Nevertheless, market competition is already becoming rather aggressive with an ever increasing number of materials suppliers. Contrastingly, at present, there are dramatically fewer table-top device orientated companies, leaving a space in the high-end, value-added section of the market – an area which will certainly become populated in the next decade or so as the price per unit volume of these emerging materials reduces substantially.

Market security is also another important issue. The related know-how for many materials manufacturers is often compromised, and of course initially facilitated by, academic publishing. In contrast to this, high-end products; such as displays, X-rays sources, e-skin; are much more shielded by the many-faceted and time-consuming product development. This provides increase company stability but higher market insertion costs. Nevertheless, this is not to say that the UK should not actively strive toward or even encourage material growth start-up companies. But rather, a certain degree of pragmatism must be exercised with regards to the longevity and longer-term financial benefits such companies will bring to the UK, especially given the dominance of the Asian and US markets. Regardless, certainly much more national benefit would be achieved from high-end products based on nanomaterials, though the higher start-up costs must be nationally accommodated through incubator start-up grants or similar funds of sorts.

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By meeting with various individuals of distinctly different backgrounds I have learnt a great deal on various routes in achieving a successful research career. Multi-disciplinarily stands out as one such methodology and the tour highlighted that research funding in the USA is, at present at least, favouring interdisciplinary projects, particularly at the biological – nano interface. Indeed, many principal investigators evidenced a significantly higher success rate in grant applications for interdisciplinary projects compared to more fundamental studies. Part of the success of the USA in regards to the development and commercialisation of several nanotechnologies is in part attributed to the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN). Supported by the National Science Foundation, the NNIN forms a centralised compendium of open-access University and Government owned and ran research facilities throughout the country. It is a clear, simple and readily accessible platform for academics and industry to gain rapid access to equipment otherwise unavailable to them. A centralised network, such as the NNIN, should be encouraged in the UK and though the DTI-funded ‘Micro and Nanotechnology Capital Facilities’ programme, established in 2004, does already exist, in its current guise it usefulness is somewhat unclear; an issue that must be resolved especially if the UK is to accelerate its research efforts and to increase its global impact in a timely fashion, both academically and industrially. The benefits of collaboration are wide-ranging and the merits of sharing of ideas are self-evident. A recent report in the Journal Nature showed that the USA is ‘less internationally collaborative than Western Europe’ and quantified an appreciable increase in the impact of international, rather than purely domestic, research projects. Universities incubate novel concepts that have significant potential to the wider economy and domestic collaborations, between Universities, private and government owned research institutes were clearly an important part of the USAs research strategy. Notwithstanding, the collaborations are unquestionably effectual for both parties. Increased inter-department and inter-university collaboration should be encouraged in the UK, perhaps by the implementation of distinct small funding schemes to encourage researcher mobility in support of cross-networking.

The trip has been incredibly enriching, both personally and professionally, and has provided a great opportunity to derive a clear handle on the technological achievements and state-of-the-art nanotechnologies currently under development in the USA. A variety of novel two-dimensional materials have recently been synthesised and many applications exploiting their unconventional optical, electronic and mechanical properties are emerging. The prominence of the UKs graphene research well positions us to make significant impact on application-orientated research though timely and efficient execution of this is critical if there is to be significant wealth creation.

7. Follow up This project aimed to return knowledge to the UKs materials and fabrication industry as well the broader academic electrical engineering and materials science community. On my return to the UK I reported my findings informally to my immediate colleagues in the Department of Engineering, Cambridge University. In the near term I also plan to liaise with Aixtron Ltd. to provide some insight into the future direction of nanomaterial synthesis given the wide range of novel applications I observed throughout the tour. Using knowledge gleaned during the tour, I have recently completed the design of an automated chemical vapour deposition reactor, the software for which I will make freely available, on request, to all UK institutions, for non-profit research use only. I have added a link to the Winston Churchill Trust on my research webpage as a means to encourage others to apply and I have advertised the WCMT Travelling Fellowship in the Departmental Research Calls website and the weekly Departmental Bulletin. I intend my dissemination to be on-going. In the medium term I will pass on my findings though my roles of Director of Studies, Tutor and Admissions Tutor at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, as well as in the longer term through my STEM outreach and my various consultancy activities

Acknowledgements First and foremost, I express sincere thanks to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (www.wcmt.org.uk) for providing

generous funds to facilitate this personally and professionally rewarding trip. I have learnt a tremendous amount. I would also like to thank all those at the host institutions who took time out of their busy schedules to introduce their research and to show me around their laboratory facilities.

References [1] http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/map/ [2] Che Y, Wang C, et al. 2012 ACS Nano 6 7454-62 [3] Franklin A D, Tulevski G S, et al. 2012 ACS Nano 6 1109-15 [4] Schwartz G, Tee B C-K, et al. 2012 Nature Comms. 4 [5] Park S, Vosguerichian M, et al. 2013 Nanoscale 5 1727-52 [6] Bethune D S, Kiang C H, et al. 1993 Nature 363 605-7 [7] Antaris A L, Robinson J T, et al. 2013 ACS Nano 7 3644-52 [8] Wang C, Murphy P F, et al. 2011 Nano Lett. 11 5247-51

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[9] Yoon H, Yeung K Y M, et al. 2012 Nature 488 [10] Yao J, Yan H, et al. 2013 Nature Nanotechnol. 8 6 [11] Xu L, Jiang Z, et al. 2013 Nano Lett. 13 5 [12] Taychatanapat T, Watanabe K, et al. 2013 Nature Physics 9 4 [13] Yankowitz M, Xue J, et al. 2012 Nature Physics 8 4 [14] Landis E C, Phillips K C, et al. 2012 J. Appl. Phys. 112 063108