No longer just a spectator, silicon oxide gets into the electronics action on computer chips
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 - 13:37
in Physics & Chemistry
Scientists are documenting that one fundamental component of computer chips, long regarded as a passive bystander, can actually be made to act like a switch. That potentially allows it to take part in the electronic processes that power cell phones, iPads and other products. In a new report, the scientists document the multiple ways in which silicon dioxide, long regarded simply as an electric insulator, gets involved in the action.