Graphene electronics can be prepared on flexible substrates. Only the gold metal leads are visible in the transparent graphene sensor. (Photo: Natalia Hutanu / TUM) Physicists at Technische Universität München (TUM) are using the special properties of graphene to produce key elements of an artificial retina. With their research program the researchers were admitted to the heavily funded “Graphene” Flagship Program of the EU. Graphene is viewed as a kind of “miracle solution”: It is thin, transparent and has a tensile strength greater than that of steel. In addition, it conducts electricity better than copper. Since it comprises only a single layer of carbon atoms it is considered two-dimensional. In 2010 the scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for their ground-breaking work on this material. In October 2013, the “Graphene” project was selected alongside the “Human Brain Project” as a Flagship Project of the EU FET Initiative (Future and Emerging Technologies). Under the supervision of Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, it bundles the research activities and will be funded with one billion euro over ten years. In July 2014 the program took on 66 new partners, including the TUM. Optical prostheses for blind people Because of its unusual properties, graphene holds
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