Stanford researchers build a heat shield just 20 atoms thick to protect electronic devices | Center for Automotive Research at Stanford

This greatly magnified image shows four layers of atomically thin materials that form a heat-shield just two to three nanometers thick, or roughly 50,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper. (Image credit: National Institute of Standards and Technology)

Aug 16 2019

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Stacking a few layers of atomically thin materials like sheets of paper on heat-generating components has been found to provide the same insulation as a sheet of glass 100 times thicker. Stanford researchers used a layer of graphene and three other sheet-like material - each three atoms thick - to create a four-layered insulator just 10 atoms thick. Thinner heat shields will enable engineers to make electronic devices more compact than we have today.