14 DAY TRIAL // Argonne National Laboratory has recently published a research report that outlines a hybrid organic / inorganic material to feature zero thermal expansion (ZTE). This odd feature qualifies it for use in the next generation of semiconductors. The products manufactured by using this new material will have a wider temperature range in operation, which means that they will feature faster clock rates even when overheated.
The major drawback in nowadays' computer is heat. It compels the IT industry to add those noisy fans, in order to prevent them from heating until thermal expansion breaks their internal wiring. The CPUs also get worn out over time due to the changes that occur in their electrical characteristics.
The ZTE materials are used nowadays in mechanics, optics, heat-engine components and kitchenware. They all have in common the fact that they are made of glass derivatives, and this material does not have anything in common with the semiconductor industry.
The Argonne National Laboratory engineers have been working on a hybrid inorganic-organic material that has all the features of a "multifunctional semiconductor, one that has been previously shown to possess superior electronic and optical properties". According to the scientists, they may develop an entire class of electricity-conductive materials with any thermal expansion value that they will expand, shrink or preserve their dimension when heated up.
"It's a merger of inorganic and organic materials", said Zahirul Islam, a physicist in Argonne's X-Ray Science Division, "which form a fully coherent, three-dimensionally ordered crystal. Normally inorganic and organic materials don't work very well together, but here they are working together to display these remarkable properties."
One of the first applications of these newly developed materials will be the laser industry, as well as flexible solar cells, LEDs and other semiconductors. The materials are extremely flexible and can be "instructed" to be completely transparent to visible light, making them the ideal candidates for future flexible displays or electronic paper.
"This work suggests a novel approach to design the thermal expansion - from positive to negative, including zero - in a nanoscopic scale by assembling nano-scale units in an ordered manner", said principal investigator Yong Zhang, of NREL. "The idea has only been demonstrated for tuning thermal expansion in one dimension and study was limited to one or two materials. Next, we would like to extend the idea to higher dimensions (i.e. ZTE in more than one dimension), and explore more inorganic-organic combinations."