Researcher discovers quicker, more efficient method for cooling electronic devices
Can be used for normal devices as well as high power ones, too
North Carolina State University researcher Dr. Jag Kasichainula has authored a paper that details an interesting method he developed for a more efficient, less expensive way to cool electronic devices, especially those which generate a lot of heat, like lasers and power devices.
A researcher has developed a new method for cooling electronic devices. (Image via: telegraph.co.uk)
His technique uses a “heat spreader” that is made of a copper-graphene composite and attached to the electronic device using an indium-graphene interface film. It’s the combination of these materials that, apparently, makes all the difference. “Both the copper-graphene and indium-graphene have higher thermal conductivity, allowing the device to cool efficiently,” explains Dr. Kasichainula, who is also an associate professor of material sciences and engineering at North Carolina State University.
More specifically, Dr. Kasichainula found that the copper-graphene film’s thermal conductivity actually cools 25% faster than pure copper, which is what most devices are using nowadays.
Improving the efficiency with which electronic devices dissipate heat is important because too high of a temperature can have an adverse effect on the device; that is, they become unreliable when internal temperatures become too hot.
In addition to describing his discovery, Dr. Kasichainula’s paper also details the electromechanical deposition manufacturing process for creating his copper-graphene composite. The good news: it’ll save manufacturers a ton of money. “The copper-graphene composite is also low-cost and easy to produce,” Kasichainula says. “Copper is expensive, so replacing some of the copper with graphene actually lowers the overall cost.”
The paper, “Thermal Conductivity of Copper-Graphene Composite Films Synthesized by Electrochemical Deposition with Exfoliated Graphene Platelets” was published in the April 2012 issue of Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B . It is available online (for purchase). ■
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