Smartphones and computers could get a big boost in performance, thanks to an accidental discovery

A team of researchers at MIT looking for a way to improve the safety and durability of nuclear reactors has accidentally discovered a new technique that could boost the performance of computer chips. The team's work was only designed to study how materials corrode and crack in the harsh environment found within a nuclear reactor.

The research — published in the journal Scripta Materialia — involved the use of a powerful, focused X-ray beam to mimic the intense radiation present inside a nuclear reactor. While conducting experiments with nickel — a common alloy component in advanced nuclear reactors — the researchers made an unexpected finding. They discovered they could also use the X-ray beam to precisely “tune” the strain in the material's crystal structure.

This could have a major impact in the development of microelectronics. Engineers working in the sector of semiconductor manufacturing employ strain engineering — a technique used to introduce and modify strain in materials to improve optical and electrical performance. This new discovery provides a novel strain engineering technique.

With our technique, engineers can use X-rays to tune the strain in microelectronics while they are manufacturing them. While this was not our goal with these experiments, it is like getting two results for the price of one. — Ericmoore Jossou, senior author of the study.

The research was also successful with regard to its original aim. The team successfully developed a method for real-time 3D monitoring of material failure in a simulated nuclear reactor environment. The team also found that prolonged exposure to the X-ray relaxed the internal strain of the material, allowing for accurate 3D reconstruction of the crystal as it was being stressed. A feat Jossou says no one has achieved before.