The constant increase in electronic device usage leads to energy waste in the form of residual heat. A new material could convert this heat into electricity, offering promising prospects for more sustainable technologies.
An international team of researchers has developed a thermoelectric alloy composed of silicon, germanium, and tin, all from group IV of the periodic table. This innovative alloy could be integrated into current electronic chip manufacturing processes, enabling the conversion of heat produced by processors into electrical energy. This work has been published in
ACS Applied Energy Materials.
Currently, in Europe, about 1.2 exajoules of low-temperature heat are lost each year through IT infrastructure, such as data centers and smart devices. This heat, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of countries like Austria or Romania, represents an underexploited energy source due to technological challenges related to its recovery.
The combination of germanium and tin has proven to be particularly interesting for thermoelectric applications. According to Dr. Dan Buca from the Jülich research center, the addition of tin to germanium reduces thermal conductivity while maintaining electrical properties, making it an ideal candidate for converting heat into electricity.
Integrating this alloy into silicon chips could enable direct recovery of residual heat generated during processor operation, thus reducing the need for external cooling and additional power supply. This approach paves the way for more sustainable and energy-efficient computing devices.
Professor Giovanni Capellini, from IHP, emphasizes that this advancement could have a major impact on so-called "green" IT infrastructure. Research continues with the aim of extending the composition of this alloy to other combinations, such as SiGeSn, and ultimately developing a fully functional thermoelectric device.
Article author: Cédric DEPOND