The issue of supercomputers overheating has long plagued computer experts, but a team at the University of Utah has just created a topological insulator that prevents high temperatures from ultra-fast supercomputers.

The material has been described as a “topological insulator.” It’s a metal layer on top of a silicon semiconductor that allows electrical conductivity on the outside but serves as an internal insulator.

While topological insulators have been around for about 10 years, the challenge has been to build one with a major energy gap. An energy gap is defined as a level required for electrons to conduct electricity across the surface. The higher the energy gap, the more electricity can be conducted across the exterior surface rather than the interior, which is prone to overheating.

A layer of bismuth, centered atop a silicon semiconductor, was found to be the most efficient method by University of Utah engineering professor Feng Liu and his team. While the bismuth atomically bonded to the silicon, it was electronically isolated to create a large energy gap.

Liu emphasized that the topological insulator could be created in a cost-effective manner and quickly integrated with other silicon products. “We can put it on silicon so it can be married or combined with the existing semiconductor technology. It makes it more experimentally feasible and practically realistic.”

The topological semiconductor would open up the world to fastest supercomputers operating at room temperature. It’s also a step towards other major computer projects, such as quantum supercomputers and “spintronics” that harness the spinning of electronics for data storage. While these computers are currently in development, the insulator could greatly help reduce overheating in these future technologies.

Liu’s insulator could be easily and cheaply integrated with existing technology, or built into new computers in a cost-effective manner. His study was partially funded by the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.