Computer chips can now be made out of wood thanks to scientists at the University of Wisconsin Madison and the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Products Laboratory.
The computer chip is inside a support cradle made of cellulose nanofibril (CNF), which is flexible, wood based, and biodegradable. ServerMonkey prides itself on green initiatives, so we love that you can throw these new computer chips into the forest and have the fungus degrade them.
Because wood based materials can expand due to moisture in the air, the chips are coated with an epoxy coating to wicker away moisture. The glazed layer also makes the chip smoother. The new computer chip is not only sustainable, but it’s also cheaper than traditional chips.
The researchers also fabricated gallium arsenide-based microwave device, often used in mobile devices like phones and tablets, to be used on the CNF substrate. CNF is a bio-based material, making it more sustainable, bio-compatible, and biodegradable, unlike the more common petroleum-based polymers.
These wood based chips will reduce the amount of potentially toxic material on Earth. Essentially, the chips will reduce waste while expanding the flexibility of technology. What do you think about the new ecological chips? Let us know in the comments below!
