Electrical Transport and Power Dissipation in Aerosol-Jet-Printed Graphene Interconnects.

This paper reports the first known investigation of power dissipation and electrical breakdown in aerosol-jet-printed (AJP) graphene interconnects. The electrical performance of aerosol-jet printed (AJP) graphene was characterized using the Transmission Line Method (TLM). The electrical resistance decreased with increasing printing pass number (n); the lowest sheet resistance measured was 1.5 kΩ/sq. for n = 50. The role of thermal resistance (RTH) in power dissipation was studied using a combination of electrical breakdown thermometry and infrared (IR) imaging. A simple lumped thermal model ([Formula: see text]) and COMSOL Multiphysics was used to extract the total RTH, including interfaces. The RTH of AJP graphene on Kapton is ~27 times greater than that of AJP graphene on Al2O3 with a corresponding breakdown current density 10 times less on Kapton versus Al2O3.

Graphene Foam as a three-dimensional Platform for Myotube Growth.

This study demonstrates the growth and differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts into functional myotubes on 3-dimensional graphene foam bioscaffolds. Specifically, we establish both bare and laminin coated graphene foam as a biocompatible platform for muscle cells and identify that electrical coupling stimulates cell activity. Cell differentiation and functionality is determined by the expression of myotube heavy chain protein and Ca2+ fluorescence, respectively. Further, our data show that the application of a pulsed electrical stimulus to the graphene foam initiates myotube contraction and subsequent localized substrate movement of over 100 micrometers. These findings will further the development of advanced 3-dimensional graphene platforms for therapeutic applications and tissue engineering.