New material will allow microchips to generate energy from their own heat
Scientists from Europe have made a breakthrough in the development of materials for harvesting energy directly on chips. The new research could lead to more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly electronic devices. A research team from Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom has created a germanium-tin alloy that can convert the heat generated by processors into electricity. The main advantage of this material is that it is compatible with existing chip manufacturing technologies.
The main problem with modern electronic devices is that they generate a large amount of heat that is dissipated into the environment. In Europe alone, about 1.2 exajoules of low-temperature heat are lost annually from IT infrastructure and devices.
Previously, there were no materials capable of efficiently converting this heat into electricity suitable for use in modern chip manufacturing methods.
The new alloy consists of elements of group 4 of the periodic table, which makes it easy to integrate into existing silicon-based chip manufacturing processes. This way, the heat generated by the processors during operation can be used to power the devices themselves.
“The addition of tin to germanium significantly reduces the thermal conductivity of the material while maintaining its electrical properties, which is ideal for thermoelectric applications,” explains Dr. Dan Buka, head of the research team.
This research can also lead to improved device performance. The potential applications of this material go beyond thermoelectricity and include photonics and spintronics. This combination of technologies will make it possible to create more compact and functional electronic devices.
