Structural Materials
GRAPHENE
VS STRUCTURAL MATERIALS
Graphene is the strongest material ever measured — 200 times stronger than steel at one atom thick. Edge SMT grows graphene via EdgeWATS photochemical deposition. No CVD furnace. No transfer process. No substrate damage. Graphene grown directly where it needs to be, in the geometry it needs to hold.
| Metric | Graphene (WATS-grown) | Structural Steel (A36) | Carbon Fiber Composite | Titanium Alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tensile Strength | ~130 GPa (theoretical monolayer) | 0.4 GPa | 3.5–7 GPa (directional) | 0.9–1.2 GPa |
| Strength vs Steel | ~200× stronger | Baseline | ~10–17× stronger | ~2.5× stronger |
| Thickness | 1 atom — 0.335 nm | Millimeters to centimeters | Millimeters — layer count dependent | Millimeters to centimeters |
| Electrical Conductivity | ~10&sup6; S/m — exceeds copper | ~10&sup6; S/m (similar) | Near zero (insulating matrix) | ~2×10&sup6; S/m |
| Thermal Conductivity | ~5,000 W/mK — highest known | ~50 W/mK | ~5–10 W/mK (matrix-limited) | ~7 W/mK |
| Corrosion Resistance | Complete — chemically inert | None without coating | Good — but resin can degrade | Excellent — oxide layer |
| Weight | ~0.77 mg/m² — effectively massless | 7,850 kg/m³ | 1,600 kg/m³ | 4,430 kg/m³ |
| Fabrication Method | EdgeWATS — room temperature, direct write | Steel mill — high energy, CO₂ intensive | Autoclave — high temperature, high pressure | Vacuum arc remelting — energy intensive |
Semiconductor Materials
MoS₂ AND 2D SEMICONDUCTORS
VS SILICON AND ALTERNATIVES
MoS₂ is a 2D transition metal dichalcogenide — a direct bandgap semiconductor that switches in a channel one atom thick. No silicon doping. No junction engineering. No Boltzmann limit from bulk physics. Edge SMT grows MoS₂ and 12+ other 2D semiconductor materials from a single WATS run.
| Metric | MoS₂ (WATS-grown) | Silicon (bulk CMOS) | GaN (gallium nitride) | SiC (silicon carbide) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Thickness | 0.65 nm — single monolayer | Nanometers to microns — bulk | Thin film but not monolayer | Bulk — not 2D |
| Bandgap | 1.8 eV direct (monolayer) — tunable by layer count | 1.1 eV indirect — limits optical efficiency | 3.4 eV — wide bandgap, high power | 3.26 eV — wide bandgap |
| Boltzmann Limit | Can be broken — tunneling FET geometry possible | Hard 60 mV/decade — fundamental physics limit | 60 mV/decade — same limit | 60 mV/decade — same limit |
| Dopant Fluctuation | Zero — 2D channel has no bulk dopants | Severe at sub-5nm — random dopant fluctuation | Present — limits scaling | Present — limits scaling |
| Radiation Hardness | Inherently high — 2D geometry limits ionization path | Poor — bulk silicon vulnerable to SEU | Good | Excellent |
| Fabrication Temperature | Room temperature via WATS photochemistry | 900–1200°C — high thermal budget | 1000°C+ MOCVD | 1500°C+ epitaxy |
| Supply Chain | Molybdenum + sulfur — abundant, domestic sources | Prime silicon — Shin-Etsu (Japan), Siltronic (Germany) | Gallium — China produces 80% globally | Silicon carbide boule — limited suppliers |
| Flexibility | Mechanically flexible — bendable electronics | Brittle — shatters under flex | Brittle | Brittle |
Diaphene
Diaphene is a proposed allotrope of carbon — a diamond-graphene hybrid structure with sp²/sp³ mixed bonding. Harder than diamond in the out-of-plane direction, with graphene's in-plane conductivity. EdgeWATS grows diaphene via high-pressure photon and ion beam synthesis. No prior art on commercial production. Patent filed.
Harder
than diamond out-of-plane
100+ Materials
The EdgeWATS recipe library covers MoS₂, WS₂, WSe₂, MoSe₂, MoTe₂, graphene, hBN, black phosphorus, Ga₂O₃, InSe, Bi₂Te₃, perovskites, HZO, and over 100 additional materials. All grown at room temperature. All from the same machine. No other fabrication system in the world covers this material set in a single platform.
100+
materials in WATS library
hBN Gate Dielectric
Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is the perfect gate dielectric for 2D semiconductors — atomically flat, chemically inert, zero dangling bonds at the interface. SiO₂ gate dielectrics introduce interface traps that degrade 2D device performance. EdgeWATS grows hBN directly on MoS₂ in the same run — no transfer, no contamination, no interface damage.
0
interface traps — hBN on MoS₂
Gate Dielectrics
hBN
VS GATE DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
The gate dielectric is the most performance-critical interface in any transistor. For 2D semiconductors, hBN is not an option — it is the only choice that does not destroy device performance. Edge SMT grows hBN in the same WATS run as the MoS₂ channel beneath it.
| Metric | hBN (WATS-grown) | SiO₂ (thermal oxide) | HfO₂ (high-k, ALD) | Al₂O₃ (ALD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interface with 2D Material | Atomically flat — zero dangling bonds, zero traps | Rough — dangling bonds degrade 2D device mobility 10× | Interface traps — worse than SiO₂ on 2D | Better than HfO₂ — still not trap-free |
| Dielectric Constant (k) | ~3–4 (low-k, but trap-free compensates) | 3.9 — but high EOT at thin dimensions | ~25 — high-k, low EOT | ~9 |
| Bandgap | ~6 eV — excellent insulator, no leakage | ~9 eV | ~5.7 eV | ~8.7 eV |
| Thermal Stability | Stable to 1000°C — no interdiffusion | Stable — but dissolves in HF | Crystallizes at 500°C — leakage spikes | Stable to 800°C |
| Growth Method | EdgeWATS — same run as channel, no transfer | Thermal oxidation — requires silicon substrate | ALD — separate tool, separate process step | ALD — separate tool, separate process step |
| Mechanical Flexibility | Flexible — matches 2D semiconductor flexibility | Brittle — cracks under flex | Brittle | Brittle |
| Chemical Inertness | Complete — resists all common etchants | HF-soluble — process compatibility limits | Good — but not HF resistant | Good |
Engineered Composites
EDGECRETE
VS ADVANCED STRUCTURAL COMPOSITES
EdgeCrete is a graphene-nodule-reinforced geopolymer composite grown by EdgeWATS. The graphene nodules are not mixed in — they are grown into the geopolymer matrix during fabrication. No Portland cement. No rebar. No curing. The strongest structural material available at construction scale, fabricated without a furnace.
| Metric | EdgeCrete (Graphene Geopolymer) | Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) | Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) | Kevlar / Aramid Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compressive Strength | 60,000+ PSI | 20,000–30,000 PSI | High in fiber direction — low transverse | Moderate — optimized for tensile, not compressive |
| Reinforcement Method | Graphene nodules grown into matrix — integral | Steel fiber + silica fume — mixed in, not integral | Carbon fiber layers — laminated | Aramid fiber layers — woven or laminated |
| CO₂ Footprint | Near zero — geopolymer, no kiln | High — Portland cement + steel fiber | High — fiber production + resin autoclave | High — aramid synthesis + resin |
| Rebar Required | No — graphene nodules provide tensile resistance | Yes — still requires steel reinforcement | No — self-reinforcing | No — self-reinforcing |
| Fire Resistance | Excellent — geopolymer stable to 1200°C | Good — better than standard concrete | Poor — resin degrades above 300°C | Poor — aramid degrades above 400°C |
| Corrosion Resistance | Complete — graphene is chemically inert | Steel fiber corrodes — limits marine use | Excellent — fiber inert, resin can degrade | Good — fiber inert, resin can degrade |
| Fabrication | EdgeWATS — graphene grown into matrix, no kiln | Batch plant + autoclave — energy intensive | Autoclave — high pressure, high temperature | Autoclave or VARTM — complex processing |
| Self-Monitoring | EdgeInfra piezo mesh embedded at fabrication | None | None | None |