Graphene offers protection from intense lasers

Researchers from Singapore and the United Kingdom have jointly announced a new benchmark in broadband, non-linear optics using single-sheet graphene dispersions. Graphenes are single sheets of carbon atoms bonded into a hexagonal array. In nature, they tend to stack to form graphite. In a breakthrough, researchers from the National University of Singapore, DSO National Laboratories and University of Cambridge have developed a method to prevent the re-stacking of these sheets by attaching alkyl surface chains to them. This method produced a material that can be processed in a solution and dispersed into solvents and films. Researchers found that the dispersed graphenes absorb intense nanosecond laser pulses. These materials could be used to protect sensitive sensors and devices from laser damage and in anti-glare treated devices.