14 DAY TRIAL // I think we have had enough of computers packed with tens of fans, all blowing air around like it's some kind army experiment to develop a new air turbine engine, and of worrying all the time about the possibility of the microprocessor fan dying on us, and ruining the chip. Most people think that the microprocessors need to be kept at certain temperature levels, in order to prevent the tiny silicon connections from burning out. Wrong! A microprocessor chip contains multiple materials in its composition, thus each of them has different temperature expansion coefficients, which may trigger unwanted forces that could sheer electrical connections.
Semiconductor materials, which can sustain high temperatures without suffering severe damage, are needed. So, the U.S. Department of Energy has taken the initiative of building the first semiconducting material with zero thermal expansion, meaning that all the materials used in developing the microchip have the same temperature expansion coefficient and would not experience sheering forces, during exposure to high temperatures. The invention of the ZTE semiconductors may prove a key element in developing the new generation of electronic circuits and optoelectronics, capable of operating in various temperatures.
As ZTE materials have been developed well before the ZTE semiconductors, they are currently being used in multiple domains that require such materials, like developing ZTE lenses, mechanical components and even kitchenware. Although they have previously been proposed for electronic use, most of the ZTE materials developed so far are glasses, which are ideal for creating optical equipment, but do not transmit electrical signal very well.
However, the new semiconductor is built by using a combination of organic and inorganic materials, which results in a hybrid with excellent optical and electrical properties, and can be designed either to work as a positive or negative thermal expansion material. The fabrication process involves creating the material, by laying alternating nanolayers of organic and inorganic materials, each with a different expansion thermal coefficient, which cancels out the macroscopic effect.
Furthermore, the new semiconducting material could be one day used to create high-efficiency lasers, and thin flexible light absorbing and emitting devices, by doping it with certain material impurities. The ZTE semiconductor presents remarkable structure stability in normal conditions, or while shined with an ultraviolet laser; it can withstand more than 200 degrees Celsius without losing structure.