Graphene transistors exhibit nanoscale cooling effect

Led by mechanical science and engineering professor William King and electrical and computer engineering professor Eric Pop, the team will publish its findings in the April 3 advance online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The speed and size of computer chips are limited by how much heat they dissipate. All electronics dissipate heat as a result of the electrons in the current colliding with the device material, a phenomenon called resistive heating. This heating outweighs other smaller thermoelectric effects that can locally cool a device. Computers with silicon chips use fans or flowing water to cool the transistors, a process that consumes much of the energy required to power a device.