Miniaturisation Archives

Scaling down electronic components with diamond films

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Joana Mendes researches the integration of artificial diamond with power electronic devices.

Diamonds are an engineer’s best friend. As well as their incredible hardness, diamonds have several physical properties that make them excellent for electrical devices – like light-emitting diodes (LEDs). One of the big challenges in electronics is continually trying to miniaturise devices: the smaller they become, the more heat is generated which reduces their lifespan, reliability, and efficiency. Effective thermal […]

How electrons and phonons promote heat transfer in material systems

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Chris Perez’s research focuses on thermal energy transport in novel materials and nanostructures using an interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of material science, optics, and electron microscopy to understand and tune thermal properties. He aims to conceive strategies for thermal sensing and control key components to realise an additional degree of freedom for materials integration.

Miniaturisation is one of the key features of current and future technologies for information processing and control. However, the ability to reduce the size of an electronic component is limited by a decrease in electrical conductivity and an increase in thermal energy dissipation as the device approaches the nano-scale regime. By studying the electronic and vibrational characteristics of high-purity iridium […]