German and American scientists have proposed a method that allows you to quickly reduce the heating of electronic equipment and accelerate the charging of batteries several times. Researchers achieved such impressive results thanks to a single innovation.

All digital electronics generate heat due to the operation of transistors, which act as a switch, stopping or allowing electric current to flow. So heat is a byproduct of energy production. If you do not get rid of “excessive” heat, the device may overheat and fail. Therefore, electronic components need cooling systems, most often represented by radiators. They are generally made of copper and aluminum sheets with high thermal conductivity.

But these metals have a big problem. They are good conductors of electricity. An electrically insulating oxide or thin nitride layer is made between the metal and the component to reduce their electrical conductivity. But even here there is a drawback – poor heat conduction.

Scientists have long been trying to find a material with good thermal conductivity to replace the interlayer. A group of physicists led by Matthias Mühle ( Matthias Mühle ) from the Fraunhofer Society, Europe’s largest association of applied research institutes, as well as from colleagues in the United States. A diamond became a lifesaver.

Diamond coolants are just starting to find applications in electronic products. Their main advantage is that they have the ability to dissipate a much higher specific heat capacity than conventional heat dissipating materials. But diamond heatsinks are more than two millimeters thick, so it is difficult to mount them on small electronic components.

Mühle and his team developed flexible nanomembranes from synthetic diamonds that are thinner than a human hair (less than a micrometer thick). According to the developers, their material can be embedded in almost any electronic component and will be able to gently heat the elements to 80 degrees Celsius.

Physicists noted that flexible, electrically insulating nanomembranes could reduce the thermal load of electronic components by a factor of 10, which would increase the energy efficiency and service life of not only the components but also the entire device in which they are housed. . Another advantage of such nanomembranes is that they can increase the charging speed by five times when used, for example, in charging stations for electric cars.

“Our main target for now is electric cars. Calculations show that these nanomembranes can be used to cool power electronics related to the conversion of electrical energy.” explained Mühle.

Scientists have already applied for a patent and will soon begin applied research: they will experiment with diamond nanomembranes in electric vehicles and telecommunication systems. If the tests are successful, the developers plan to establish industrial production of cooling products.