Ignasi Fina, Florencio Sánchez, Huan Tan, and Tingfeng Song, from the Multifunctional Thin Films and Complex Structures (MULFOX) group, are joining forces with the Politecnico di Milano and the University of Cambridge to aid in the ongoing efforts in device miniaturization. They are doing so by trying to face one of the main bottlenecks in the process: heating.
As miniaturized devices become more powerful, it becomes more and more important to find solutions to dissipate the extra heat that comes with it. This team is trying to develop solid materials that can refrigerate the device using the electrocaloric effects that are very pronounced in ferroelectric materials. Ferroelectricity has been recently discovered in hafnium oxide, a CMOS compatible material, but its electrocaloric properties are yet to be investigated.
To further study the properties and applications of hafnium oxide films, Ignasi Fina’s group is pitching in their experience in ferroelectric characterization and material development. They will join the University of Cambridge’s group (UK), led by Xavier Moya, who has experience in the characterization of electrocaloric effects, and the one from Politecnico di Milano (Italy), led by Christian Rinaldi, with experience in device fabrication, in order to reduce the heating and power consumption of small devices.
