Recent trend in graphene for optoelectronics

This study analyzes the scientific knowledge diffusion paths of graphene for optoelectronics (GFO), where graphene offers wide applications due to its thinness, high conductivity, excellent transparency, chemical stability, robustness, and flexibility. Our investigation is based on the main path analysis which establishes the citation links among the literature data in order to trace the significant sequence of knowledge development in this emerging field. We identify the main development paths of GFO up to the year 2012, along which a series of influential papers in this field are identified. The main path graph shows that knowledge diffusion occurs in key subareas, including reduced graphene oxide, chemical vapor deposition, and exfoliation techniques, which are developed for the preparation and applications of GFO. The applications cover solar cells, laser devices, sensing devices, and LCD. In addition, the main theme of GFO research evolves in sequence from small-graphene-sample preparation, to large-scale film growth, and onto prototype device fabrication. This evolution reflects a strong industrial demand for a new transparent-conductive film technology.