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Graphene Film Cools Electronics 4 Times Better Than Copper
http://reliawire.com/2015/07/graphene-film-cools-electronics-4-times-better-than-copper/

n effective method for cooling electronics using graphene-based film has been developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology.

The thermal conductivity capacity of the film is four times greater than copper’s. Not only that, but the graphene film can be attached to electronic components made of silicon. This gives favourable performance compared to typical graphene characteristics shown in earlier, similar experimental films.

Today’s electronic systems generate a great deal of heat. This is mostly because the ever-increasing demand on functionality.

Disposal of of excess heat in an efficient manner is indispensable for prolonging electronics lifespan, and also could lead to a significant lowering of energy usage. According to one study, roughly half the energy required to run computer servers is used just for cooling purposes.

A team of researchers led by Chalmers’ Johan Liu, had earlier demonstrated that graphene was able to have a cooling effect on silicon-based electronics. This marked a milestone for researchers doing work on the cooling of silicon-based electronics using graphene.

“But the methods that have been in place so far have presented the researchers with problems”, Professor Liu says. “It has become evident that those methods cannot be used to rid electronic devices off great amounts of heat, because they have consisted only of a few layers of thermal conductive atoms. When you try to add more layers of graphene, another problem arises, a problem with adhesiveness. After having increased the amount of layers, the graphene no longer will adhere to the surface, since the adhesion is held together only by weak van der Waals bonds.

We have now solved this problem by managing to create strong covalent bonds between the graphene film and the surface, which is an electronic component made of silicon.”

The stronger covalent bonds are the result of the addition of a property-altering molecule to the graphene.
n effective method for cooling electronics using graphene-based film has been developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology.

The thermal conductivity capacity of the film is four times greater than copper’s. Not only that, but the graphene film can be attached to electronic components made of silicon. This gives favourable performance compared to typical graphene characteristics shown in earlier, similar experimental films.

Today’s electronic systems generate a great deal of heat. This is mostly because the ever-increasing demand on functionality.

Disposal of of excess heat in an efficient manner is indispensable for prolonging electronics lifespan, and also could lead to a significant lowering of energy usage. According to one study, roughly half the energy required to run computer servers is used just for cooling purposes.

A team of researchers led by Chalmers’ Johan Liu, had earlier demonstrated that graphene was able to have a cooling effect on silicon-based electronics. This marked a milestone for researchers doing work on the cooling of silicon-based electronics using graphene.

“But the methods that have been in place so far have presented the researchers with problems”, Professor Liu says. “It has become evident that those methods cannot be used to rid electronic devices off great amounts of heat, because they have consisted only of a few layers of thermal conductive atoms. When you try to add more layers of graphene, another problem arises, a problem with adhesiveness. After having increased the amount of layers, the graphene no longer will adhere to the surface, since the adhesion is held together only by weak van der Waals bonds.

We have now solved this problem by managing to create strong covalent bonds between the graphene film and the surface, which is an electronic component made of silicon.”

The stronger covalent bonds are the result of the addition of a property-altering molecule to the graphene.