Heat is the main source of energy loss in most industrial processes and in electronic devices. To manage and reuse heat more efficiently, a study led by the University of Barcelona has developed a thermal memory prototype capable of controlling heat flow with small electrical voltages. This innovation, published in the journal Advanced Materials , has potential implications for intelligent heat management, energy conversion and thermal energy harvesting.
The study is led by Professor Eric Langenberg, from the Department of Condensed Matter Physics at the Faculty of Physics and the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN2UB) at the UB, and the first author is expert Dídac Barneo (UB-IN2UB).
Also taking part are experts from the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS), based at the University of Santiago de Compostela; the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC); the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC); and the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR).
Controlling heat in electronic devices
The study addresses one of the major challenges of modern electronics: controlling heat in electronic devices. "This research could pave the way for the development of a new information storage technology based on heat rather than electricity," says Professor Langenberg.
The prototype consists of a solid structure formed by a gold layer on top of an ultra-thin layer (seven nanometres thick) of a ferroelectric hafnium-zirconium oxide (Hf0.5Zr0.5O2), which is deposited on an oxygen-ion conductive substrate. (yttria-stabilised zirconia, YSZ).
