A breakthrough in wiring material could transform chip technology.
The rapid technological advancements of our world have been enabled by our capacity to design and fabricate ever smaller electronic chips. These underpin computers, mobile phones and every smart device deployed to date.
These interconnects are typically made from copper, and as we start to scale them down to nano-scale thicknesses, their electrical resistance increases rapidly because the electrons moving along the wires have a higher probability of colliding into the surface of the wire. In other words, it is robust and not easily destroyed by reshaping it. Even when the material is made thinner, bent or given ridges, the special conductive properties that can be observed on the surface remain present.
Anyone who has tried this likely knows how dull and soft the untempered version can be — and how it affects the taste. Now imagine how useful it would be if you could simply skip this tempering. Not only would it make the production process more efficient, it could also decrease the energy required. This is essentially what the Stanford team have shown in relation to their material.
If this effect can occur even in a disordered material, it greatly simplifies the manufacturing process – with positive implications for the costs.
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