Devices made with silicon carbide would be able to withstand thermal extremes. "It doesn't require cooling," said Tangali Sudarshan, a professor at the University of South Carolina. "You're looking at space exploration, devices in nuclear reactors, and very high-powered switching devices."

A new method to make flawless silicon-carbide crystals may revolutionize electronic devices intended for extreme temperatures, though the development of products for market could be years away.

The research, from the Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories in Nagakute, Japan, was published in the latest issue of "Nature" in an article entitled, "Materials Science: Silicon Carbide in Contention." The team discovered a way to grow silicon carbide -- known as "SiC" -- with significantly fewer flaws, so that it could be used in electronics.


Source : NewsFactor