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Sub -silicon wafer? Some companies have launched a 12 -inch diamond wafer

release time:2022-03-17Author source:SlkorBrowse:4482

AKHAN Semiconductor, a technology company specializing in the manufacture and application of synthetic and laboratory-cultivated electronic diamond materials, recently announced that the company has demonstrated its ability to manufacture 300mm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) diamond wafers for semiconductor, telecommunications, consumer industries and the global market.They pointed out that the breakthrough 300mm CMOS diamond wafer in this industry will enhance the power handling, thermal management and durability of electronic products in various industries, but it will not make any changes to the manufacturers' existing manufacturing processes.

Because of its inherent characteristics, diamond is proved to be the most ideal semiconductor material, far exceeding the capability of silicon, which has been the industry standard material for sixty years. In order to produce the most advanced technology in the world, semiconductor manufacturers have traditionally relied on 300mm silicon wafers, although silicon has reached its physical limit. With the global industry surpassing Moore's Law, the ability to produce 300MM diamond wafers is crucial for semiconductor manufacturers, especially in advanced industries such as aerospace, telecommunications, military and national defense, and consumer electronics."The shortage of semiconductor chips this year has been fully proved," said Tom Lacey, chairman of the board of AKHAN. "As America plans to increase the supply of chips, it is also important to use the best materials for manufacturing to achieve the best performance.""AKHAN's 300mm diamond wafer is the basic building block. It will bring stronger and more durable equipment, and its operating temperature will be lower. Manufacturers only need to make minor updates to their existing manufacturing processes," said Adam Khan, founder of AKHAN Semiconductor. "From weapon systems to spacecraft, the most advanced equipment and technology in the world will benefit from diamonds many times. Now that we have proved the ability to manufacture this ideal material on 300MM wafers, manufacturers will be able to use the optimized chip materials, thus making their final products run more efficiently. "As the United States evaluates the semiconductor supply chain according to the current global shortage and strives to regain its leading position in this key field, policy makers must give priority to companies that surpass silicon by innovating and developing the next generation chips using materials such as diamond. Besides the advanced ability of diamonds, American rivals also know how powerful this coveted gem is, and are giving priority to developing materials for advanced weapons.  
         

IC is ready to show its talents


My "aha" moment (founder of AKHAN Semiconductor) occurred in 2004, when, as a junior with a double degree in physics and engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a research paper caught my interest. It's about the role that diamonds can play as electronic materials-it was a very unknown field at that time. At that time, however, I realized that diamond technology could cause great changes in the electronic industry, and I knew that I wanted to play a role in making diamond semiconductors a reality.Since 1960s, silicon has been a popular material choice for semiconductors, and it still accounts for more than 95% of the available equipment types in the market. But it poses several long-term challenges. Perhaps the better-known problem, usually expressed as "Moore's Law", emphasizes the trend that smaller and faster electronic products are physically limited by the ability of silicon-simply put, the speed and size of devices on the market are almost the absolute best performance that materials can achieve. The more pressing and visible problem facing silicon is the heat problem. Historically, the thermal management of silicon semiconductor devices has been proved to be problematic for power electronic products. The required cooling method is inefficient and is the main source of electronic waste.For this reason, we defined diamond semiconductor. Once regarded as the "Holy Grail" of electronic products, it has now become a real substitute, which can be used as a silicon supplement or an independent semiconductor platform material. Diamonds are no longer just downgraded to gems, but provide a roadmap for the development of power electronics and the future unknown years of the wider global electronics industry.In fact, many people think that the industry is entering the dawn of the diamond age. They believe that the world's hardest natural materials with excellent electronic properties will make the performance of various industries by going up one flight of stairs. It will soon become the accepted choice for the production of the most advanced industrial products-and its application in consumer electronics products will follow closely.Why diamonds? Because it can run hotter (more than 5 times that of silicon) without degrading its performance, it is easier to cool (its heat transfer efficiency is 22 times that of silicon), it can withstand higher voltage before breakdown, and electrons (and electron holes) can pass through them faster. The current provided by semiconductor devices using diamond materials is one million times that of silicon or diamonds previously tried.Diamond-based semiconductors can increase power density and make faster, lighter and simpler devices. They are more environmentally friendly than silicon and can improve the thermal performance in the equipment. Therefore, the market of semi-conductive diamond materials can easily surpass the market of silicon carbide, because of its performance, cost and direct integration with the prior art into the silicon platform.The history of semiconductor industry can be traced back to 1833, when the British natural philosopher Michael Faraday described the "special case" in which he found that the conductivity of silver sulfide crystal increased with temperature. But it was not until this century that diamonds began to be valued.Since that research paper attracted my interest for more than ten years, my company AKHAN SEMI has developed a series of advanced technologies in cooperation with Argonne National Laboratory, enabling us to manufacture independent diamond materials, deposit diamonds directly on processed silicon, manufacture complete diamond semiconductor devices, and attach diamond materials to other electronic materials.Diamond technology is producing thinner and cheaper equipment, which has been used in information technology, military and aerospace applications. In addition, diamond semiconductors will have a significant impact on consumer electronics, telecommunications and health industries as early as 2015.Automobile manufacturers are paying attention to the application of diamond power devices in electric vehicle control modules. Diamonds can also help better manage the battery life and battery system of various devices, including mobile phones, cameras and vehicles.For cloud computer servers stored in data centers that consume a lot of energy in an extremely wasteful way, Diamond Semiconductor uses less energy more efficiently while providing better performance. As diamond technology reduces the size and energy required by semiconductors, it paves the way for small personal electronic products ranging from washing machines and dryers to televisions and digital cameras. As for defense technology, it can provide greater range, reliability and performance in normal and extreme/dangerous operating environments.Therefore, diamond semiconductor has a wider range and energy efficiency in its application. They help drive cheaper and faster cloud integration to meet the needs of consumers and businesses. They have changed the ability of where and how to use our mobile phones, laptops and other personal electronic devices that have not yet been invented, and their benefits go far beyond performance. Power electronic equipment such as diamond represents a great opportunity to reduce electronic waste and halve the cost of electronic cooling.As we all know, diamonds are formed in nature after a long period of time and cost thousands of dollars on the open market. However, laboratory-made diamonds can be produced cleanly and economically in factory environments anywhere in the world using some of the richest molecules in the universe: methane and hydrogen, which are easily available. The process I am most familiar with is the one adopted by our company and used in Argonne National Laboratory. In this process, methane and hydrogen plasma are exposed to microwave energy to form very thin diamond materials in different sizes, thicknesses and materials, such as silicon, sapphire, glass, etc.Once formed, using these thin diamond film materials (about 1/70 of the diameter of human hair), we can change the electronic characteristics and form a device structure that is more than one thousand times thinner than the leading silicon counterpart. State-of-the-art diamonds, but also improved performance, allowing the trend of smaller, faster and more practical to continue.

In just ten years, with silicon reaching the critical point, diamond materials are taking its place. It's time to pass the torch to Diamond–an excellent material that will enable the next generation of innovators to create faster, more powerful and more environmentally friendly electronic products.




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