GoKawiilScientists at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have created electronic devices that continue to function perfectly in both extreme cold and extreme heat. In a press release on Monday, the researchers said their devices, made of gallium oxide, can withstand temperatures ranging from near absolute zero to 500°C (932°F).For context, every component in the device you are reading this on would likely fail before 200°C (392°F).
The devices could have far-reaching applications across space applications where extreme temperature swings are the norm.
Most conventional electronic systems, from chips to sensors and circuits, use silicon semiconductors; some powerful and high-frequency devices use gallium nitride and silicon carbide. For these materials to conduct electricity, electrons must have enough energy to move into available conducting bands, where they can travel through the material, generating an electric current.
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At extremely low temperatures, electrons lose the thermal energy required to move, becoming trapped — a phenomenon known as freeze-out.
“In practice, most conventional electronics start to fail as you go below about 100 K (−173°C/343.4°F),” explained Vishal Khandelwal, a former Ph.D. student of Xiaohang Li’s and the leader of the research team.
Because conventional electronics behave unpredictability at cryogenic temperatures, systems used in environments such as deep space and quantum computing often require specialized electronics and elaborate thermal management systems, adding cost, bulk, and complexity.
On the other end of the spectrum, as temperatures rise, electrons gain increasing amounts of thermal energy. In conventional semiconductors, this excess energy can excite large numbers of electrons into the conduction band uncontrollably, even when the device is meant to remain in an ‘off’ state. The resulting surge in unwanted charge carriers leads to electrical leakage, unstable switching behavior, overheating, and eventual device failure.
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