Communications of the ACM
Cool Electronic Devices With More Heat
Researchers at the University of Buffalo have found a way to optimize the heat in electronic devices to prevent failure from overheating.
Credit: Jon Bird, Jong Han
University at Buffalo (UB) researchers have found a way to optimize the heat in electronic gadgets to prevent failure due to overheating and possibly enable increasingly powerful computers to work within existing parameters.
The researchers created nanoscale semiconductor devices in a modern gallium arsenide crystal, then sent a large voltage to the chip. The electrical current traveled through the nanoconductors, thereby raising the amount of heat circulating through the chip's nanotransistor. However, rather than causing failure, the nanotransistor spontaneously changed into a quantum state that was protected from the effect of heating and provided a strong electric current channel.
"We've found that it's possible to protect nanoelectronic devices from the heat they generate in a way that preserves how these devices function," says UB professor Jonathan Bird. "This will hopefully allow us to continue developing more powerful smartphones, tablets, and other devices without having a fundamental meltdown in their operation due to overheating."
UB professor Jong Han notes the behavior of the nanotransistor is the result of the quantum mechanical nature of electronics when viewed on the nanoscale. "We're not actually eliminating the heat, but we've managed to stop it from affecting the electrical network," Han says.
From EE Times India
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