NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR

BETTER EFFICIENCY IN
COMPUTER CHIPS

KALASALINGAM INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

KRISHNAN KOIL, VIRUDHUNAGAR.

Presented By:
R.Durga Devi, EEE (III YEAR)

N.Pavithra,EEE (III YEAR)

Email Id:

eedurga11@gmail.com

n.pavithra91@gmail.com
ABSTRACT: KEYWORD:
Nanotechnology is one of the fast
OVERCLOCKING: Extra cooling which is
developing branches of hybrid science
usually required by those who run parts of
combining physics, chemistry and
their computer (such as the CPU and GPU)
engineering. One of the major implications
at higher voltages and frequencies than
of this technology will have on the future
manufacturer specifications call for.
field of engineering. Future computer chips
will contain more circuitry and components, INTRODUCTION:
causing them to generate additional heat and
The present trends used for reducing
requiring innovative cooling methods.
the heat in the computer are Liquid
This paper explains the various types
submersion cooling, Passive heat-sink
of cooling devices used for reducing the heat
cooling, Active heat-sink cooling, Peltier
from the computer chip and the most
cooling or thermoelectric cooling, Water
innovative and emerging technique, using a
cooling Heat pipe ,Phase-change cooling,
liquid to cool electronic circuits, however,
Integrated chip cooling techniques. However
poses many challenges, as they are
the new technique works by generating ions
expensive and prone to breakdown. So, our
or electrically charged atoms using
aim here is to create a type of system for the
electrodes placed close to one another on a
chips to cool such that the challenges
computer chip. Generated ions are passed
hindered are overcome. Thus industry has
from electrode to electrode, with collisions
developed a new cooling method that uses
between ions and neutral air atoms
air. The key attribute of this work is that it
propelling the air forward in what is called
sticks with air cooling while possibly
the corona wind effect – the process that
providing the same rate of cooling as a
cools. The entire thing would sit on, and be
liquid. We explain the cooling of future
integrated into, a chip that is 10mmx10mm.
computers using nanotechnology. This
method uses new type of cooling technology CAUSES OF HEAT GENERATION
for computers that uses a sort of nano-
lightning to create tiny wind of currents that
would self-cool the chips without any
requirement of an external mean.
The amount of heat generated by an
integrated circuit (e.g., a CPU), the
prime cause of heat build up in
modern computers, is a function of
the efficiency of its design, the
technology used in its construction
and the frequency and voltage at
which it operates. In operation, the
temperature of a computer's
components will rise until the heat
lost to the surroundings is equal to
the heat produced by the component,
and thus the temperature of the
component reaches equilibrium. For
reliable operation, the equilibrium
temperature must be sufficiently low
for the structure of the computer's
circuits to survive.
LIQUID SUBMERSION COOLING
An uncommon practice is to submerge the
computer's components in
thermally conductive liquid.
Personal computers that are cooled
in this manner do not generally
require any fans or pumps, and may
be cooled exclusively by passive
heat exchange between the
computer's parts, the cooling fluid
and the ambient air. Extreme
component density supercomputers
such as the Cray-2 and Cray T90
used additional liquid to chilled
liquid heat exchangers in order to
facilitate heat removal.
The liquid used must have sufficiently low
electrical conductivity in order for it not to
interfere with the normal operation of the
computer's components. If the liquid is
somewhat electrically conductive, it may be
necessary to insulate certain parts of
components susceptible to electromagnetic
interference, such as the CPU. For these
reasons, it is preferred that the liquid be
dielectric.
Evaporation can pose a problem, and the
liquid may require either be regularly
refilling or sealing inside the computer's
enclosure. Liquid may also slowly seep into
and damage components, particularly
capacitors, causing an initially functional
computer to fail after hours or days
immersed.
PASSIVE HEAT-SINK COOLING
Passive heat-sink cooling involves
attaching a block of machined or extruded
metal to the part that needs cooling. A
thermal adhesive may be used. More
commonly for a personal-computer CPU, a
clamp holds the heat sink directly over the
chip, with a thermal grease or thermal pad
spread between. This block usually has fins
a and ridges to increase its surface area. The
heat conductivity of metal is much better
than that of air, and it radiates heat better
than does the component that it is protecting
(usually an integrated circuit or CPU). Until
recently, fan-cooled aluminium heat sinks
were the norm for desktop computers.
Today, many heat sinks feature copper base-
plates or are entirely made of copper, and
mount fans of considerable size and power.
Fig 1: Passive heat sink on a chip
Dust buildup between the metal fins of a
heat sink gradually reduces efficiency, but
can be countered with a gas duster by
blowing away the dust along with any other
unwanted excess material. Passive heat sinks
are commonly found on older CPUs, parts
that do not get very hot (such as the chipset),
and low-power computers.
Usually a heat-sink is attached to the
integrated heat spreader (IHS), essentially a
large, flat plate attached to the CPU, with
conduction paste layered between. This
dissipates or spreads the heat locally. Unlike
a heat sink, a spreader is meant to
redistribute heat, not to remove it. In
addition, the IHS protects the fragile
CPU.Passive cooling involves no fan noise.
ACTIVE HEAT-SINK COOLING
Active heat-sink cooling uses the
same principle as passive, with the addition
of a fan that blows over or through the heat
sink. The air movement increases the rate at
which the heat sink can exchange heat with
the ambient air. Active heat sinks are the
primary method of cooling modern
processors and graphics cards.
Fig 2: Active heat sink with a fan and
heat pipes.
The buildup of dust is greatly increased with
active heat-sink cooling, because the fan
continually takes in the dust present in the
surrounding air.
PELTIER COOLING OR
THERMOELECTRIC COOLING
In 1821 T. J. Seebeck discovered that
different metals, connected at two different
junctions, will develop a micro-voltage if
the two junctions are held at different
temperatures. This effect is known as the
"Seebeck effect"; it is the basic theory
behind the TEC (thermoelectric cooling).
In 1834 Jean Peltier discovered the inverse
of the Seebeck effect, now known as the
"Peltier effect". He found that applying a
voltage to a thermocouple creates a
temperature differential between two sides.
This results in an effective, albeit extremely
inefficient heat pump.
WATER COOLING
Fig 3: DIY Water cooling setup showing
12v pump, CPU Waterblock
While originally limited to mainframe
computers, water cooling has become a
practice largely associated with
overclocking in the form of either
manufactured kits, or in the form of do-it-
yourself setups assembled from individually
gathered parts. The past few years has seen
water cooling increasing its popularity with
pre-assembled, moderate to high
performance, desktop computers. Water has
the ability to dissipate more heat from the
parts being cooled than the various types of
metals used in heat sinks, making it suitable
for overclocking and high performance
computer applications.
Advantages to water cooling include the fact
that a system is not limited to cooling one
component, but can be set up to cool the
central processing unit, graphics processing
HEAT PIPE
Fig 4: A graphics card with a heat pipe
cooler design.
A heat pipe is a hollow tube containing a
heat transfer liquid. As the liquid evaporates,
it carries heat to the cool end, where it
condenses and then returns to the hot end.
Heat pipes thus have a much higher
effective thermal conductivity than solid
materials. For use in computers, the heat
sink on the CPU is attached to a larger
radiator heat sink. Both heat sinks are
hollow as is the attachment between them,
creating one large heat pipe that transfers
heat from the CPU to the radiator, which is
then cooled using some conventional
method. This method is expensive and
usually used when space is tight or absolute
quiet is needed. Because of the efficiency of
unit, and/or other components at the same
time with the same system. As opposed to
air cooling, water cooling is also influenced
less by the ambient temperature. Water
cooling's comparatively low noise-level
compares favorably to that of active cooling,
which can become quite noisy. One
disadvantage to water cooling is the
potential for a coolant leak. Leaked coolant
can damage any electronic components it
comes in contact with. Another drawback to
water cooling is the complexity of the
system; an active heat sink is much simpler
to build, install, and maintain than a water
cooling solution.
this method of cooling, many desktop CPUs
and GPUs, as well as high end chipsets, use
heat pipes in addition to active fan-based
cooling to remain within safe operating
temperatures.
USE OF ROUNDED CABLES
Most older PCs use flat ribbon cables to
connect storage drives. These large flat
cables greatly impede airflow by causing
drag and turbulence. Overclockers and
modders often replace these with rounded
cables, with the conductive wires bunched
together tightly to reduce surface area.
Theoretically, the parallel strands of
conductors in a ribbon cable serve to reduce
crosstalk (signal carrying conductors
inducing signals in nearby conductors), but
there is no empirical evidence of rounding
cables reducing performance. This may be
because the length of the cable is short
enough so that the effect of crosstalk is
negligible. Problems usually arise when the
cable is not electromagnetically protected
and the length is considerable, a more
frequent occurrence with older network
cables.
In order to have a still better efficiency of It refers to the manipulation of matter on the
the computer, the cooling devices, cables are
minutest scale i.e. atoms and molecules. Fig
replaced by nanotechnology.
(5) shows the process of Atom.

NANOTECHNOLOGY

The word nanotechnology is derived

from the Greek word ‘nanos’ meaning
‘dwarf’. Nanotechnology involves working
with matter at the scale of one-billionth of a
meter (1mm).

Fig (5): Atom

Every element is composed of matter.
Matter is again the composition of infinite
atoms. The atoms cluster together to form
molecules, which, in turn, combine with
several other molecules to form a basic
molecular structure. The molecular
structures have specific density, shape,
hardness and other physical properties of
that particular element. These very
properties are taken to consideration when
we talk of nanotechnology. The properties
of matter depend on how atoms are arranged
in the matter. It is possible to rearrange
atoms in the matter. If we rearrange atoms in
coal we get diamonds. When we rearrange
atoms of sand with addition of little
impurities we get computer chips. Thus
nanotechnology is about rearranging of
atoms and placing each atom in the right
place.Nanotechnology crosses and unites
academic fields of physics,
chemistry,biology and even computer
science taking shape to create ‘smart
materials’ roughly the size of atoms,
possessing far better characteristics than
what they originally had.
A major challenge for
nanotechnology is to get control on the
characteristics of the matter to develop
highly efficient systems. The goal of
nanotechnology is to manipulate atoms
individually and place them in a pattern to
produce a desired structure. The fig (6)
shows Molecules process.

Fig (6): Molecules
NANO-LIGHTING
A new type of cooling technology for
computers that uses a sort of nano-lightning
to create tiny wind currents is used to cool
the chips. Future computer chips will
generate additional heat, requiring
innovative cooling methods, as they will
contain more circuitry and components.
Engineers are studying ways to improve
cooling technologies, including systems that
circulate liquids to draw heat from chips.
Using a liquid to cool electronic circuits,
however, poses many challenges, and
industry would rather develop new cooling
methods that use air.
Future cooling devices based on the
design will have an ion-generation region,
where electrons are released, and a pumping
region, made up of another set of electrodes
needed to create the cooling effect. The key
attribute of this work is that it sticks with air
cooling while possibly providing the same
rate of cooling as a liquid. Chips in desktop
computers currently are cooled with ‘heat
sinks’ that contain fins to dissipate heat. The
heat sinks are connected to bulky fan
assemblies to carry away the heated air.
You need an external means of
creating air. We need the fan. Here, the
creation of air as well as the cooling is all
happening on one chip. That’s the key value
of this idea. The researchers envision
cooling devices that are small enough to fit
on individual chips, actually making up a
layer of the chip. The entire thing would sit
on, and be integrated into, a chip that is
10mmx10mm.
REGIONS OF COOLING
The cooling of computer chips is
incorporated through two regions
respectively,
 Ion – Generating region
 Ion – pumping region
Fig (7): Shows the electron emission
process.
ION – GENERATING REGION
 This region consists of electrodes for
electron emission and ion creation. Using
electrodes placed close to one another on a
computer chip, the new technique works by
generating ions – or electrically charged
atoms. Negatively charged electrodes, or
cathodes, are made of nanotubes of carbon
with tips only as wide as five nanometers, or
billionths of a meter. Carbon nanotubes are
tiny cylindrical structure that are some
50,000 times thinner than the diameter of
human hair.
A carbon nanotubes is a sheet of
carbon atoms joined in a pattern of hexagons
and rolled into a cylinder, like chicken wire.
Where the two ends wrap around and meet
determines the conductive properties of the
monotube. Line the ends up one way, and
the nanotube conducts electricity like a
metal. But line them up another way, and the
nanotube heaves like a semiconductor. Roll
one nanotube around another, and you get a
multi-walled nanotube – a metal – type
inside a semiconductor inside a metal – type,
for example. The negatively charged
nanotubes discharge electrons toward the
positively charged electrodes when voltage
is passed into the electrodes.
These carbon nanotubes combine to form
electrodes to generate ions that cause the
ionization of air, which in turn creates tiny
wind currents thereby cooling the chips.The
researchers are able to create the ionizing
effect with low voltage because the tips of
the nanotubes are extremely narrow and the
oppositely charged electrodes are spaced
apart only about 10 microns, or one – tenth
the width of a human hair.
Fig (8): Pumping Region process.
ION – PUMPING REGION
Pumping region made up of another
set of electrodes needed to create the cooling
effect. Clouds of ions are created when
electrons react with air can then be attracted
by the second region of electrodes and
pumped forward by changing the voltages in
those electrodes. This region consists of a
series of electrodes, with descending
positive polarity with the final one
negatively charged. Usually the series
consist of three electrodes with the first one
highly positive, the next one less positive
and the last one negative. This combination EFFECT ANALYSIS
creates a kind of environment so that the
The effect relies on corona
ions are pumped out resulting in an ionic
discharge, which allows atoms to become
breeze which cools the computer chips. The
ionized near sharp points and edges – this
creation of ionic breeze is explained by
belief is perpetuated in the construction of
“corona wind effect”.
pointy lightning rods historically (though
rounded or spherical topped rods are better
than the pointed rods).
CORONA WIND EFFECT
Usually, two electrodes are used with a
A corona wind is created by the ions
high voltage between them, about 20kV,
that follow an electrical field set up by
where one electrode is small or sharp, and
opposite charges. In man – made devices,
the other larger and smoother. This creates
generated ions are passed from electrode to
a high field gradient around the smaller,
electrode, in the mode of a charge – coupled
positively charged electrode. Around this
device, with collisions between ions and
electrode, electrons are stripped of the atoms
neutral air atoms propelling the air forward
in the surrounding medium they are literally
in what is called the corona wind effect
pulled right off by the electrode’s charge.
(Ionic Breeze). The corona wind effect was
The electrons quickly move to the electrode,
explained by Biefeld and Brown. This
and are driven to the negative electrode by
effect is also known as Biefeld-Brown
the voltage. This leaves a cloud of positively
Effect
charged ions in the medium, which are
BIEFELD – BROWN EFFECT attracted to the negative electrode. This also
drags along some of the surrounding
The Biefeld – Brown effect is an electro
medium, causing what is known as ion
kinetic effect that was discovered by
wind, which creates a breeze of considerably
Thomas Townsend Brown and Dr. Paul
greater magnitude than the ions themselves
Alfred Biefeld. The effect is more widely
account for.
referred to as Electro – hydrodynamics
(EHD) or sometimes electro – fluid – Unipolar charge current can be
dynamics. generated through corona discharge from a
thin wire enclosed in a shield electrode.
Except for an ionization sheath adjacent to
the coronating wire surface, most parts of
the region in the enclosing shield contain
drifting ions of a single polarity in response
to the electric field. Momentum transfer as a
consequence of collisions between drifting
ions and electrically neutral air molecules
gives rise to the electro hydrodynamic flow
known as corona wind.
COOLING METHODOLOGY USING
NANOTUBES
The steps involved in the cooling process
are as follows.
 Carbon nanotube electrodes placed
close to one another on a computer
chip and voltage is passed into the
electrodes.
 When voltage is passed into the
electrodes the negatively charged
nanotubes discharge electrons
towards the positively charged
electrodes.
 The electrons react with surrounding
air, causing the air molecules to be
ionized just as electrons in the
atmosphere ionize air in clouds.
 This ionization of air leads to an
imbalance of charges that eventually
result in lightning bolts.
 To create lightning we need tens of
kilovolts, but we do it with 100 volts
or less, in simple term, we are
generating lighting on a nano-scale
here.
 The researchers are able to create the
ionizing effect with low voltage
because the tips of the nanotubes are
extremely narrow and the oppositely
charged electrodes are spaced apart
only about 10 microns, or one – tenth
the width of human hair.
 The ionized air molecules cause
currents like those created by the
“corona wind” phenomenon, which
happens between electrodes at
voltages higher than 10 kilovolts, or
10,000 volts.
 Clouds of ions created when
electrons react with air can then be
attracted by the second region of
electrodes and pumped forward by
changing the voltages in those
electrodes.
 The voltages are rapidly switched
from one electrode to the next in
such a way that the clouds of ions
move forward.
 As the ions move forward, they
make repeated collisions with neutral
molecules, producing the breeze.
 Voltages are switched at the right literally through the core of a chip
frequency so that the ion cloud is and out the other side.
constantly moving forward causing  Thus the process of cooling is carried
the breeze to flow. out so that the heat is given out
 The pumping concept works with a without providing any external
region of electrodes made of many means.
series, each series containing three
ADVANTAGES OF SELF COOLING:
electrodes.
 The first in the series is the most
 Additional cost for providing
positively charged, followed by an
external cooling (coolers, air –
electrode that has a less – positive
conditioner etc) can be eliminated.
charge and then a third electrode that
 Size of computers will be smaller in
is negative.
near future compared to those used at
 Switching the voltages from one
present.
electrode to the next causes the
 No moving parts inside the
charges to move forward, which in
computer, hence there will be more
turn moves the ion clouds.
reliable and noiseless.
 Generated ions are passed from
 Self – cooling of chips will increase
electrode to electrode, in the mode of
the life expectancy of the chips and
a charge – coupled device, with
hence increase the life of appliance.
collisions between ions and neutral
 Additional and more advanced
air atoms propelling the air forward
circuitry can be designed and
in what is called the corona wind
fabricated within a single chip.
effect.
 In conventional cooling we need an
 The researchers nanosized the corona
external means of creating air. We
wind effect and combined it with
need the fan. Here, the creation of
micro fluidic channels with
air as well as the cooling is all
embedded, megahertz – sequenced
happening on one chip. That’s the
electrodes to create suitable for
key value of this idea.
pumping heat – laden air molecules
CARBON NANORIBBONS FOR
SMALLER, SPEEDIER COMPUTER
CHIPS
Stanford chemists have developed a
new way to make transistors out of carbon
nanoribbons. The devices could someday be
integrated into high-performance computer
chips to increase their speed and generate
less heat, which can damage today's silicon-
based chips when transistors are packed
together tightly. Researchers have made
nanoribbons, strips of carbon 50,000-times
thinner than a human hair, that are smoother
and narrower than nanoribbons made
through other techniques.
Fig (9) A schematic of graphene
nanoribbon field-effect transistor with
palladium contacts (S,D) on a 10 nm thick
insulating silicon dioxide surface (purple).
Beneath the Si02 layer is a highly
conductive silicon layer (G)
The researchers have made the
transistors called "field-effect transistors"—
a critical component of computer chips—
with graphene that can operate at room
temperature. Graphene is a form of carbon
derived from graphite. Other graphene
transistors, made with wider nanoribbons or
thin films, require much lower temperatures.
Field-effect transistors are the key elements
of computer chips, acting as data carriers
from one place to another. They are
composed of a semiconductor channel
sandwiched between two metal electrodes.
In the presence of an electric field, a charged
metal plate can draw positive and negative
charges in and out of the semiconductor.
This allows the electric current to either pass
through or be blocked, which in turn
controls how the devices can be switched on
and off, thereby regulating the flow of data.
COMPUTER MEMORY DESIGNED IN
NANOSCALE
The researchers have developed nanowires
capable of storing computer data for
100,000 years and retrieving that data a
thousand times faster than existing portable
memory devices such as Flash memory and
micro-drives, all using less power and space
than current memory technologies. These
nano-wires can retrieve data 1000 times
faster than the normal wire. This new form
of memory has the potential to revolutionize
the way we share information, transfer data
and even download entertainment as
consumers. The researchers grew the
nanowires onto a layered oxide-nitride-oxide
substrate. Applying a positive voltage across
the wires causes electrons in the wires to
tunnel down into the substrate, charging it.
A negative voltage causes the electrons to
tunnel back up into the wires. This process
is the key to the device's memory function:
when fully charged, each nanowire device
stores a single bit of information, either a
"0" or a "1" depending on the position of the
electrons. When no voltage is present, the
stored information can be read.
The device combines the excellent
electronic properties of nanowires with
established technology, and thus has several
characteristics that make it very promising
for applications in non-volatile memory. For
example, it has simple read, write, and erase
capabilities. It boasts a large memory
window--the voltage range over which it
stores information--which indicates good
memory retention and a high resistance to
disturbances from outside voltages. The
device also has a large on/off current ratio, a
property that allows the circuit to clearly
distinguish between the "0" and "1" states.
Fig (10): Basic Structure of NanoWire
The basic structure of the nanowire
devices is based on a sandwich geometry in
which a nanowire (n-type zinc oxide) is
placed between the substrate (heavily doped
p-type silicon) and a top metallic contact,
using spin-on glass as an insulating spacer
layer to prevent the metal contact from
shorting to the substrate (as shown in (a) and
(b)). This allows for uniform injection of
current along the length of the nanowire. A
finished wafer using the team’s method is
shown in (c), with a typical device shown in
(d). Note that a stray nanowire intercepts the
device on the upper part of (d). The oval
feature surrounding the stray nanowire is
due to the varying thickness of the spin-on
glass film. When a voltage is applied to this
device, it emits ultraviolet light (as shown in
image (e) obtained with a CCD camera)
with a peak wavelength of ~380 nm.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
1. Silicon Nanowires Upgrade Data-
Storage Technology - fabricated
memory device that combines
silicon nanowires with a more
traditional type of data-storage.
Their hybrid structure may be more
reliable than other nanowire-based
memory devices recently built and
more easily integrated into
commercial applications.
2. Another version of the design
might replace the carbon nanotubes
with a thin film of diamond, which
would be sturdier and easier to
fabricate than the nanotubes. The
grain boundaries in the diamond
film provide the same kind of
opportunity for electron emission
and ion generation as a carbon
nanotube. Most features of the
device could be manufactured with
conventional silicon fabrication
techniques used in the
semiconductor industry to make
computer chips. Electronics
manufactures ultimately are most
 interested in reliability because so
much of what we do now depends
completely on the reliability of our
systems. This cooling method
would have no moving parts
making it quiet and reliable.
3. Integrated Nanowire Sensor
Circuitry -Integrated sensor circuit
based on nanowire
combining light sensors
electronics made of different
crystalline materials.
CONCLUSION
Cooling of computer chips is indeed
a matter of highest concern in today’s
electronic world.With greater development
in the field of IC fabrication, more complex
circuitry may be designed. Additional heat
production eventually leads us
requirement of innovative cooling methods.
Chips in desktop computers currently are
cooled with ‘heat sinks’ that contain fins to
dissipate heat. The heat sinks are connected
to bulky fan assemblies to carry away the
heated air. External means of creating air
and the fan are needed. Conventional fans
use too much space and energy for laptop
computers, which have to be cooled entirely
with heat sinks and tube – like “heat pipes”
that dissipate heat. Liquid cooling, on the
other hand, would be expensive and prone to
break down. For that reason, the ion – driven
cooling device represents a way to increase
cooling capacity in laptops, meaning they
could use higher performance chips that
generate too much heat for current laptops.
Moreover the entire thing could sit on, and
be integrated into, a chip that is 10 x 10
millimeters. The researchers envision
arrays,
cooling devices that are small enough to fit
and
on individual chips, actually making up a
layer of the chip.
Here, the creation of air as well as
the cooling is all happening on one chip.
Hence self – cooling of computer chips is far
more beneficial than the conventional one
and moreover it paves way for innovative
thinking and research.
Nanotechnology is used in
for
computers for improving its efficiency.for
eg.,in case of normal wire the data may be
lost during its transmission process and
consumes more power but using nanowires
will provide us secure data transmission
along with low power consumption ,high
speed and reliability.
REFERENCE
1.http://www.xbitlabs.com
2.www.nanotech.now.com
3,High Voltage Engineering,Fourth
edition,by MS.Naidu and V.Kamaraju,Tata
McGrawHill Education Private
Limited,New Delhi