Graphene layer made useful for cooling electronics

A group of scientists has successfully found a way to use layers of graphene to cool electronics. Its thermal conductivity is four times better than copper and the layers can be easily applied to chips.

Research from Chalmers University of Technology shows that layers of graphene can replace more traditional cooling methods. Although it was previously known that this is possible, several problems still had to be overcome in order to actually put it into practice. Specifically, the scientists made sure that their layers of graphene could ‘stick’ to silicon, the material with which chips are made.

Previously, it was only possible to form a connection with the silicon with very thin layers of graphene. That was because the connections were made with Vanderwaals bonds, a relatively weak connection between molecules. However, Chalmers’ scientists have succeeded in binding the graphene to silicon through covalent bonds: bonds between atoms where there is a common pair of electrons, and such bonds are much stronger. To obtain covalent bonds, molecules (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane were added to the graphene.

By entering into covalent bonds, the applied layer of graphene can therefore be much thicker than was previously possible. As a result, it can also conduct larger amounts of heat away from the chip, which in turn makes it more attractive to actually use graphene as a thermal paste in practice. The researchers showed that their method provides a cooling capacity four times that of copper. It is not clear whether and when manufacturers will use layers of graphene for cooling electronics.