Editorial for the Special Issue on Carbon Based Electronic Devices

摘要

For more than 50 years, silicon has dominated the electronics industry. However, due to resources limitations, viable alternatives are considered and investigated. Among all alternative elements, carbon is the predominant element for a number of reasons; last but not least the fact that it can be obtained from waste. Whereas the physical properties of graphite and diamond have been investigated for many years, the potential for electronic applications of other allotropes of carbon (fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibres, carbon films, carbon balls and beads, carbon fibres, etc), has only been appreciated relatively recently. Carbon-based materials offer a number of exciting possibilities for new applications of electronic devices, due to their unique thermal and electrical properties. However, the success of carbon-based electronics depends on the rapid progress of the fabrication, doping and manipulation techniques.