• Nanomaterial-based Devices

    We study the use of nanomaterials (including 1D carbon nanotubes--shown here--and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides, like MoS2) to enable a variety of high-performance and printed electronic devices.  With a truly 1D electronic structure, ballistic transport, and a ~1 nm diameter, nanotubes offer many advantages for electronics.

  • Print-in-Place Electronics & Tattoos

    The media has been covering two recent advancements from the Franklin lab: print-in-place transistors (1D-2D TFTs, paper here) and electronic tattoos (paper here).  Both of these results represent the progress we are making in developing more versatile, low-cost electronics that can be printed directly onto any arbitrary substrate.  

  • Printed Sensors from Nanomaterials

    The printing of sensors provides a low-cost and highly customizable approach for enabling countless applications in this Internet-of-Things (IoT) era. This includes biosensors, such as immunoassays, used for the targeted detection of disease-specific antigens for rapid diagnosis. The intrinsic sensitivity of nanomaterials, when appropriately printed into such sensors, can provide tremendous advantages over the state-of-the-art.

  • Franklin group picture from Fall 2018 outside of the Duke engineering buildings.  In the picture (roughly from left-to-right): Prof. Franklin, Zhihui Cheng, Steven Noyce, Joey Andrews, Hattan Abuzaid, Nathaniel Brooke, Jorge Cardenas, Jian Guan, Nick Williams, Shiheng Lu, Nate Watson, Jay Doherty, Yuh-Chen Lin, Brittani Carroll.  Not pictured: Kate Price, Matthew Barbano, Shreya Singh, Nathan Choe, Justin Wang, Xiangjin Wu, Tian Xia

  • Carbon nanotubes monitor tire tread

    Using sensors made from printed carbon nanotubes, the tread depth of a tire can be monitored, electrically.  This low-cost solution is able to yield sub-mm accuracy in the tread thickness, all from electrical signals transmitted from inside the tire.  More details can be found in our IEEE Sensors Journal manuscript and in this story.

  • Spring 2019 Group Party!

  • Taking electronics to new places with nanomaterials

    Our lab focuses on the integration of nanomaterials to enable a new generation of electronics, from advanced nanoelectronics to low-cost printed electronics.  Customization of form factor includes adapting electronic devices to different environments, from radiation harsh space to biological applications.

  • Fall 2018 Group Party!

     

  • Fall 2015 Group Party!

     

Franklin Group

Our group is focused on improving the performance and functionality of nanomaterial-enabled electronic devices.  This includes high-performance devices from low-dimensional materials, such as 2D semiconductors, 1D carbon nanotubes, and nanowires. Also included is the low-cost realm of printed electronics, which benefits from the incorporation of nanomaterials to enhance electrical transport over large printed features, along with other application-specific advantages. The primary drive of our research is to improve performance of, and expand applications for, electronic devices, including those with more custom form factors and/or functionality (e.g., flexibility, transparency, biocompatibility, recyclability).  A growing thrust in the lab is the application of ultrasensitive, cheaply processed nanomaterials to electronic biosensing applications.  There is an increasing variety of new electronics applications that nanomaterials are uniquely capable of enabling -- the Franklin group works to make such applications possible.