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Flexible, Graphene-Based NFC Antenna for Secure Data Transfer

Along with being the thinnest, strongest, and lightest known material, graphene is flexible, impermeable, and electrically and thermally conductive. Researchers from Italy's National Research Council have developed a graphene-based near-field communication (NFC) antenna, and unlike today's NFC antennas the new devices are more flexible and durable. NFC technology can transmit small amounts of data wireless only within a close range while other methods, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, have a wide transmit range. NFC technology is used to identify objects because with such a close transmitting range, it is more secure and less vulnerable to data hijacking. NFC technology is used for sharing files from mobile devices and NFC devices are used in contactless payment systems. The researchers have now designed an antenna that could exchange information with near-field communication devices such as a mobile phone, matching the performance of conventional metallic antennas. The graphene-based NFC antennas are chemically inert, highly resistant to thousands of bending cycles, and can be deposited on different standard polymeric substrates or silk tissues.