Optical and electrical characterization of graphene oxide films for possible applications in optical communications

The optical and electrical characterization of graphene oxide (GO) for potential applications in optical communication systems, is presented here. GO films were considered at both the emitter and receiver stages. GO was synthesized from bamboo Guadua angustifolia Kunth as the precursor material, using the double thermal decomposition (DTD) method at a carbonization temperature of 973 K under a controlled nitrogen atmosphere, resulting in a low oxide concentration. Optical characterization was performed by measuring the emission intensity in the visible and near-infrared spectral ranges, revealing a broadened response above 630 nm. Electrical characterization was carried out through current-voltage (IV) measurements over different current ranges, showing a linear response between -5 and 5 mA with electrical resistance values above 0.30 kΩ. For higher current values, the curves exhibited a nonlinear with electrical resistance increasing by an order of magnitude; as expected, possibly due to the low oxidation degree. These results suggest that GO films could be suitable for use in basic optical communication systems, as both radiators and photodetectors.