Heat is usually an unfortunate side effect of electricity, and too much of it can damage components and devices, sometimes in dangerous ways. As such, managing and removing heat is a major consideration in electronics design, with heat sinks usually made of copper or aluminum. The problem is, these metals are also good conductors of electricity, so another insulating layer is usually needed. So for the new study, the Fraunhofer team turned to diamond, which is an excellent conductor of heat but an insulator for electricity. "We want to replace this intermediate layer with our diamond nanomembrane, which is extremely effective at transferring heat to the copper, as diamond can be processed into conductive paths," said Matthias Mühle, a scientist on the project. "As our membrane is flexible and free-standing, it can be positioned anywhere on the component or the copper or integrated directly into the cooling circuit."