Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced the recent installation of an Agilent 5600LS atomic force microscope at the Cambridge Graphene Centre (CGC) in the United Kingdom. The CGC, one of the key consortium partners in the ambitious Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Graphene Flagship project, is directed by Andrea Ferrari, professor of nanotechnology at the University of Cambridge.
In October 2013, Agilent delivered a 5600LS AFM with scanning microwave microscopy capabilities to the CGC for research on graphene and other two-dimensional materials. Graphene is the second layer of carbon atoms that are sp2 covalently bonded into a honeycomb lattice. Much of graphene’s appeal comes from its unique electronic properties that may one day make super-high-speed devices a reality. SMM, a unique, AFM-based electrical characterization technique developed by Agilent, will be used to explore various properties of graphene and related materials (e.g., capacitance, impedance and dielectric properties) at the nanoscale.
The Graphene Flagship is a joint, coordinated research initiative of unprecedented scale. It is an academic-industrial consortium focused on a breakthrough in technological innovation. Research will encompass materials production to components and system integration, and targets a number of specific goals that leverage the unique properties of graphene and related materials.
This was chosen as one of only two FET flagship projects by the European Commission. The other is “The Human Brain Project.” Each of the two projects is expected to receive €1 billion over 10 years, half from the European Commission and half EU member states. The UK has already invested 60 million pounds to create a leading graphene research and technology “hub.”
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About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world’s premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, diagnostics, electronics and communications. The company’s 20,600 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent had revenues of $6.8 billion in fiscal 2013. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com.
On Sept. 19, 2013, Agilent announced plans to separate into two publicly traded companies through a tax-free spinoff of its electronic measurement business. The new company is named Keysight Technologies, Inc. The separation is expected to be completed in early November 2014.