A Swiss research team is working on a way for nanotechnology to improve the efficiency and battery-life of mobile phones and laptops ten-fold. Scientists working at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne are looking to develop new nanotechnology as part of a project called 'Steeper' which will allow PCs and electronic gadgets to be 10x more power efficient when in use, and consume almost zero energy when in standby mode.
By using steep slope transistors, which get their name due to the abrupt change they exhibit when switching between on and off states, researchers believe they can develop devices that will use significantly less power than existing transistor designs which typically leak energy even when supposedly turned off.
The EC estimates that around 10 per cent of all the energy used in homes and offices across Europe is consumed by appliances in standby mode.
If this grows unchecked, suggests the EC's Joint Research Centre, the energy consumed by devices in standby or off mode will grow to 49 terrawatt hours per year--roughly equivalent to the current annual energy needs of Austria, the Czech Republic and Portugal combined. Article