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Introduction to Nanotechnology
Nov 06, 2019

Novel nanostructures could make

smartphones more efficient
(Nanowerk News) In today’s world, nanomaterials play a crucial role in
the emergence of intelligent devices and sensors, smart homes,
autonomous devices, robotics, biotechnology and medicine.
But circuits have become so miniaturised and fast that they can no
longer manage the heat generated during the processing of information.
‘The standard ways of breaking this deadlock, such as by either
generating less heat or removing it more effectively, are failing to keep
pace,’ says Mimoun El Marssi of the Université de Picardie Jules Verne
in France.
El Marssi is the coordinator of the EU-funded ENGIMA project, which
tackles this very issue. It focuses on how to redistribute electricity
efficiently at miniscule scales, harnessing nanotechnology
breakthroughs that are opening up new possibilities and applications
thought impossible until just a few years ago.
Making the impossible possible
A major challenge faced by ENGIMA researchers is the so-called
Boltzmann tyranny problem in nanoelectronics.
It relates to one of the most basic concepts of electricity: capacitance, a
quantity showing how much charge needs to be placed on a conductor
in order to ensure a given voltage. The standard textbook definition
states that capacitance is always positive. Therefore, the larger the
voltage, the larger the stored charge, and, in turn, the more heat will be
generated by a device.
In a breakthrough development, ENGIMA researchers in France and
Russia working in collaboration with Valerii Vinokur of the US
Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory developed a
permanent static ‘negative capacitor,’ a device thought impossible until
about a decade ago.
Previously proposed designs for negative capacitors worked on a
temporary, transient basis but the ENGIMA-developed negative
capacitor is the first to operate as a steady-state reversible device.
The proposed approach harnesses properties of ferroelectric materials,
which possess spontaneous polarisation that can be reversed by an
external electric field. Increasing the charge on the positive capacitor
increases the voltage. The reverse occurs with the negative capacitor –
its voltage drops as the charge increases.
By pairing the two capacitors, the voltage of the positive capacitor can
be locally increased to a point higher than the total system voltage. This
enables electricity to be distributed to regions of the circuit requiring
higher voltage while the entire circuit operates at a lower voltage.
This breakthrough will help reduce switching energy and operational
voltage of electronic devices, thus cutting heat losses, notes Igor
Lukyanchuk, ENGIMA’s lead researcher.
‘Negative capacitance is one of the most important recent
developments in reducing the energy consumption of nanocircuits and
solving overheating problems that limit the performance of
conventional computing circuits,’ he says. ‘Building on this research, we
are developing a practical platform for implementing ultra-low-power
devices for information processing.’
Toward battery-less smart devices
In practice, this would mean your smartphone, Internet of Things
devices and numerous other electronic systems will become far more
energy efficient. In combination with other work being conducted as
part of ENGIMA, it could radically transform our experience of energy
harnessing, consumption and storage.

Building on recent advances in photovoltaic technology and thin-film

materials for solar energy conversion, ENGIMA research teams in
France and Mexico are developing novel multifunctional super-lattice
nanostructures finely tuned for optimised ferroelectric, structural and
photovoltaic responses. The work promises an efficient way to design
new nanostructures for future photovoltaic materials.
‘These photovoltaic systems could become next-generation green
energy sources as safe, reliable, environmentally friendly replacements
for batteries in self-powered smart systems,’ El Marssi says.
Meanwhile, ENGIMA researchers in Slovenia, led by Zdravko Kutnjak at
the Jožef Stefan Institute, are exploring other ways to overcome the
‘Boltzmann tyranny’. They are exploiting the so-called electrocaloric
effect that causes materials to show a reversible temperature change
under an applied electric field. The team demonstrated for the first time
that liquid crystals can be exploited as electrocaloric materials with
large temperature changes.
Developments in this area have attracted huge interest from research
and industrial communities since it suggests the efficient in-chip
integration of coolers into nanoelectronic computing circuits, according
to Kutnjak.
‘We expect that the cooling temperature in prototypes of liquid crystal
devices will be significantly enhanced compared to solid state systems,’
he adds. ‘Moreover, liquid crystal material can be used in any shape, and
such devices will not be affected by fatigue problems caused by the
cracking of materials.’
The results emerging from ENGIMA promise to open significant new
opportunities and possibilities for high-tech industries, particularly in
addressing current energy consumption and harvesting issues, with
applications across many fields.
‘From this point of view, ENGIMA may improve the long-term quality of
life and health of EU citizens. For example, by contributing to the
development of different smart systems,’ El Marssi says. ‘It is also
envisaged that ENGIMA will contribute to filling the gap in research
activity on the application of multifunctional nanomaterials for
computing and energy-consuming technologies between Europe and
other countries.’

Source: European Commission

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