A laser that can fire light pulses in one billionth of a second is set to produce structures 1000 times stronger, 1000 times faster — novel technique has applications for high-performance computing, quantum devices, and AI chip cooling
Thermal conductivity drops due to controlled phonon scattering distances
· TechRadarNews By Efosa Udinmwen published 17 January 2026
(Image credit: ISCT) Share Share by:
Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google
- Heat flow is altered inside chip components instead of removed after buildup
- Phonon motion is limited through nanoscale surface patterning
- Ultrafast lasers enable nanoscale patterning at industrially relevant speeds
Today, most electronics rely on heat sinks, fans, or liquid cooling because the components inside chips conduct heat in fixed ways.
A new method designed by Japanese researchers lets engineers control how fast heat escapes from a material, rather than just trying to remove heat after it builds up.
The work describes a laser-based fabrication method that modifies how heat moves through thin silicon and silica films by directly shaping their surfaces at the nanoscale.
Altering heat transport at the chip component level
The approach relies on ultrafast laser pulses, each lasting a femtosecond, to ablate material and create parallel grooves across the film surface.
These grooves form with carefully controlled spacing and depth that closely match the average distance phonons travel before scattering.
Because phonons are the primary carriers of heat in these components, restricting their movement predictably alters overall thermal conductivity.
The resulting features, known as femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures, show high uniformity over relatively large areas.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors