TOMSK, Dec 17 – RIA Tomsk. Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) have found an inexpensive way to synthesize silicon carbide – the material necessary for electronic devices to work under extreme conditions, the regional innovative portal reported today; this will allow to reduce the price of electronics operation in the Arctic and in space.
As explained on the portal, electronic devices require the removal of energy when heated. An aluminum radiator is placed in an ordinary computer, which diverts energy, but if the device is operated in extreme conditions (for example, in the Arctic or outer space), it must withstand very high and very low temperatures.
"When the device is working, the microcircuit heats up to plus 50 degrees Celsius, and in its inoperative state it freezes, for example, in the Arctic, up to minus 50. This leads to the fact that the radiator breaks off because of the aluminum expansion from the temperature is high. When heated, the radiator becomes slightly larger, and shrinks when cooled, and this leads to system failure", – the head of the TPU Division for Automation and Robotics Alexander Pak is quoted in the message.
He explains that if to add particles of silicon carbide, which has a low coefficient of linear expansion, to an aluminum heat sink, it less changes in size when heated and cooled. Tomsk polytechnicians have developed a non-vacuum method for the synthesis of silicon carbide, without using a special chamber, a pump, and without high gas and electricity costs.
"Received silicon carbide we clean, enrich, mix with aluminum and mold into a tablet a little less than a ten-ruble coin. In this form, it can, for example, be glued to the radiator with thermal paste. Especially for the study was developed a program which allows to analyze information about the properties of the material – 10-20 parameters at the same time", – says Pak.As a result, he emphasizes, it becomes clear how to obtain material with the best properties and optimize parameters in order to obtain a quality product using inexpensive methods "in kitchen conditions". The work is carried out in conjunction with the laboratory of 3D-modeling based on the School of Computer Science & Robotics. The project is supported by British Petroleum corporation.