Diamond is known for its beauty and value, but few know that this material also has extraordinary thermal properties. Now, a team of engineers from the Fraunhofer institutes has found a way to exploit these qualities to solve one of the biggest problems of modern electronics: overheating. Thanks to diamond nanomembranes we could witness a real revolution in the field of electronics, with more efficient, long-lasting and quicker to recharge devices.
Heat, the enemy of electronics
Heat is an inevitable byproduct of electricity and, when present in excess, can damage components and devices, sometimes dangerously. For this reason, heat management and removal are key considerations in electronic design. Typically, heat sinks are made of copper or aluminum, but these metals are also good conductors of electricity, making the use of an additional insulating layer necessary.
This is where diamond comes in. This material, in addition to being an excellent conductor of heat, is also an electrical insulator. “We want to replace this intermediate layer with our diamond nanomembrane, which is extremely effective at transferring heat to copper, since diamond can be transformed into conductive paths,” he explains Matthias Mühle, one of the scientists on the project.
Because our membrane is flexible and self-supporting, it can be placed anywhere on the component or copper or integrated directly into the cooling circuit.
Matthias Mühle, Fraunhofer Institute
Ultra thin and flexible nanomembranes
Diamond heat sinks are already starting to find use in electronics, but they are typically more than 2mm thick and can be difficult to attach to components. Nanomembranes, on the other hand, are only a micrometer thick. They are extremely flexible and can be attached to electronic components by gently heating them to 80°C. How did the team produce the nanomembranes? He grew polycrystalline diamond on silicon wafers, then peeled off and etched the diamond layers.
The researchers estimate that diamond nanomembranes could reduce the thermal load of electronic components by a factor of 10. This would significantly increase the energy efficiency and lifespan of these components and the device as a whole. If they were incorporated into charging systems, the team believes membranes could contribute to increase the charging speed of electric vehicles five times.
A scalable production process
Perhaps best of all, because diamond nanomembranes can be made on silicon wafers, the manufacturing process should be relatively easy to scale up for industrial use. The team has already filed a patent for the technology and plans to start testing it later this year in inverters and transformers for electric vehicles and telecommunications.
With diamond nanomembranes, the future of electronics could pave the way for more powerful and durable devices and more practical and affordable electric vehicles. We can't wait to see how this revolutionary technology will transform the world of electronics in the coming years.
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