Computer Chips Made From Mushroom Skin Aim To Uproot E-Waste

Each year, 50 million tons of electronic waste find their way to dumping grounds. This excess is primarily perpetuated by a part of computer chips known as the substrate, often made from unrecyclable plastic.
 
Luckily, a viable alternative may have sprung right below our feet, in the form of mushrooms.
 
Scientists at Johannes Kepler University in Austria have found that the skin of fungi may provide the right makeup to host computer chips. In a study published in Science Advances, the researchers detail using the skin of a Ganoderma lucidum mushroom, which grows on decaying wood. Given its habitat, this fungus develops an outer layer from foreign bacteria and other surrounding fungi to protect its mycelium.

The skin was then extracted and dried out, turning it into a flexible material with the thickness of paper, making for a good insulator. This is important as computer chips need to be cooled while in use. While in testing, the material was found to withstand temperatures of more than 390°F.

The team also constructed metal circuits on top of the mycelium, and found that they worked as well as chips made out of plastic polymer.
 
One of the component’s most important features is that it can decompose in soil within two weeks. On the flip side, if it avoids all UV light, it could last hundreds of years.
 
 
 
[via New Atlas and TechXplore, cover photo 1971582 © Fedor Sidorov | Dreamstime.com]