Sige Nanostructures Add Up To Cooler Computing

摘要

Anew material based on superlattices formed with an alternating layer of silicon and germanium nano-crystals (quantum dots) enables significant reductions in thermal conductivity while maintaining high electrical conductivity. The novel material - developed by researchers of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) Department of Physics and the Barcelona Institute of Materials Science - has the potential to enable the creation of tiny refrigeration systems, called nanofridges, for cooling common semiconductor devices in smaller and faster computers and other devices. Chip-scale thermal conductivity represents one of the current physical limitations to computing potential. Combining heat and electricity creates thermoelectric effects that would allow circuits to cool down and would increase the power of computing. According to researchers, no material to this point has offered the properties to provide the necessary balance between thermoelectric behavior and thermal conductivity.