Nearly very semiconductor research group worldwide is gearing up to produce carbon-based electronics as the successor to silicon, but in fact carbon materials can also be made into transparent conductors and insulators, plus can be used for optical communications and photovoltaics as well as doped with vacancies to make magnetic materials (shown here).
Not only is graphene--the planar version of carbon--faster and more power efficient power than silicon, but an often overlooked benefit is how lightweight devices made from them could become. Today much of the weight of electronic devices is due to all the copper used for interconnects, but a smartphone using carbon for its conductors, semiconductors and insulators could be nearly as light as styrofoam.
Graphene will first be used to enhance the thermal conductivity of heat spreaders and as a replacement for transparent indium-tin-oxide (ITO), but by 2023 it will be possible to fabricate nearly everything electronic with carbon materials.
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Source: University of Maryland