Uni Illinois researchers find cooling effect

Researchers from the University of Illinois may have found a way of creating transistors from graphene that have a unique self-cooling property. Current limitations of computer chips made from silicon revolve around the way they generate heat which often require an external cooling source. This affects the size of the chips and how efficient they can be. The new technique using graphene could deliver smaller, more powerful chips that could require little or no cooling at all.

The researchers postulate that graphene carbon sheets at a mere one atom thick could deliver a breakthrough for chip designers. Silicon chips generate resistive heating, the result of the way that electrons in the electricity current collide with the transistor material where the transistor touches the metal connections. Graphene-based chips would not suffer from this problem because of their molecular properties.

Using an atomic force microscope tip as a temperature probe, the researchers discovered that a transistor made from graphene did not generate heat where the transistor touches the metal connections. In fact, they found that the tendency for the graphene to self-cool was more evident than any heating.

"Graphene electronics are still in their infancy; however, our measurements and simulations project that thermoelectric effects will become enhanced as graphene transistor technology and contacts improve " said professor Eric Pop, an electrical and computer engineer who contributed to the report due to be published in Nature Nanotechnology. [via Physorg]

By Electronista Staff