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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