A small revolution is underway in the nanotechnology sector and it has a name: amorphous silicon carbide.
In the research and development of new materials, nanotechnology plays a major role today. It makes it possible to discover new physical properties of certain materials (such as the highly insulating propensity of graphene foam for example) or to develop lighter and more resistant ones. Among these very advanced materials, a new addition is emerging: amorphous silicon carbide (a-SIC). The extraordinary capabilities of the latter have just been demonstrated by Richard A. Norte at the University of Delft (Netherlands).
At the source of its strength: a unique structure
If we know diamond for its great resistance, it owes it mainly to the atomic regularity of its composition, comparable to carefully arranged Legos. For the a-SIC, it’s quite the opposite! Its atomic arrangement is random; a particularity which, far from reducing its resistance, on the contrary strengthens it. Norte explains: “en fact, amorphous silicon carbide bears witness to the force that emerges from such chance “.
If all amorphous materials have an irregular structure, a-SIC particularly stands out from them due to its fairly remarkable versatility of use. It is not subject to corrosion or mechanical wear and is also easy to produce on a large scale.
Tested and approved performance
The team working with Norte put the a-SIC to the test using a fairly precise protocol to evaluate its tensile strength. These rather extreme tests are reserved for materials known to be the most resistant. Their results were published in the journal Advanced Materials and are pretty amazing.
The a-SIC is capable of withstanding a pull of 10 GigaPascals, which is equivalent to “ an elastic limit 10 times higher than that of Kevlar “. To give you an idea, it is possible to imagine a fun little experiment. Let’s say we build a classic house door in a-SIC (with a surface area of 1.6 m2), and we want to destroy it with a winch pulled by several basic cars weighing 1,500 kg each. To reach the end of this door, it would take the equivalent of the force produced by more than a million of these vehicles. A hypothetical and simplified calculation, but which demonstrates the prowess of this material, making it a candidate of choice for numerous applications.
Application possibilities
Thanks to its strength, this material is a candidate of choice in many fields: quantum computing, aerospace, solar or detection technology. In addition to its exceptional robustness, a-SIC has also exceptional mechanical properties that can potentially be exploited in the context of vibration isolation in microchips. An extremely important aspect when dealing with high precision electronic or computing devices. The less these devices vibrate, the more precise and reliable they are and the less their components are exposed to mechanical wear.
“ With the emergence of amorphous silicon carbide, we find ourselves on the threshold of microchip research brimming with technological possibilities » explains Norte. a-SIC is a rare discovery in the field of materials science and its unique combination of properties opens up a very wide range of possibilities. Firstly in very specialized sectors, but potentially in our daily lives in the future.
Sources: Trust My Science, Technical Engineer, Advanced Materials
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