Stanford Radio

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: E157 | Srabanti Chowdhury: New forms of semiconductors are key to the future An electrical engineer discusses how new materials for semiconductors could lead to smaller, faster, more powerful, more energy efficient, and more versatile electronics. Electronics are everywhere these days, so much so that often we don't even register that we are using them. The use of electronics will only grow over time as engineers solve societal challenges through increased connectivity, faster computation, new high-tech gadgets, and energy sustainability. Against that backdrop, electrical engineers like Stanford’s Srabanti Chowdhury have been searching for new semiconductors that can expand the application space beyond the ubiquitous silicon. Among the options she’s exploring is an old familiar friend—diamond—and a few new ones, too, like gallium nitride. The diamonds Chowdhury works with are a far cry from the sparkly gems a jeweler might prize. These diamonds are “doped” with ot