Scalable 3D Graphene/Ceramic Coatings for High-Performance RF Electronics
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan - DIVISION OF ELECTRONICS AND EMBEDDED SYSTEMS |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 1 500 000 |
| Project duration | April 2024 - October 2025 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Strategic innovation program SIO Grafen |
| Call | Collaboration on commercial applications with graphene (autumn 2023) |
Important results from the project
We have achieved the main goal to develop a scalable, time- and cost-effective dip coating technique to conformally coat graphene/ceramic nanoparticle composite on 3D ceramic substrates to smoothen their surface and hence improve their RF performance. It is demonstrated that graphene mitigates the cracking issue in ceramic coatings. After the coating, the Q-factor of the studied 3D ceramic resonators increases from ~1600 to ~1700, close to the simulated/theoretical value (~1750).
Expected long term effects
The attained Q-factor close to theoretical value validates the effectiveness of the graphene-enhanced ceramic coatings. In the long term, the coating process is expected to strengthen Swedish industry in two ways. It will lead to high-performance 3D ceramic RF devices to strengthen the present telecom and smart electronics technology. Besides, it will offer opportunity to extend the market of Swedish ceramic coating industry from surface protection to advanced electronics.
Approach and implementation
Well following the research plan, this project was carried out via the collaboration between the three partners. Huawei designed and fabricated the 3D ceramic substrates. Bright Day Graphene produced large-area graphene flakes. KTH formulated the graphene/ceramic nanoparticle composite inks and developed the dip coating process to smoothen the 3D ceramic surface. Huawei and KTH fabricated the 3D ceramic resonators, and tested and analyzed their RF performance.