In the article "Atoms' 'Hidden Order' Could Be a Game Changer for Semiconductors," GW Today highlights new research co-led by Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Tianshu Li that demonstrates short-range order in atoms. Through an analogy of workers at an office holiday party, the author explains why this discovery is game-changing for computing, as SRO can be used by engineers to adapt material for maximum efficiency.
Here is an excerpt from the study: "The potential applications for such short-range engineering are manifold, Li said. Semiconductors are the backbone of modern life, and the traditional approach to improving them has been to change their composition or structure. But SRO provides a new approach. Materials produced with SRO in mind could change the way data is stored and retrieved, allowing for more powerful and efficient computing. Or they could vastly reduce the energy consumption of AI data centers, which by 2030 are predicted to account for about 20% of global energy use."
Read the full article on GW Today.