Highlights of Diamond Semiconductor Conference

On December 12, 2023, the first Diamond Semiconductor Conference opened in Zhengzhou. As a company deeply involved in the superhard materials industry, Moresuperhard was also invited to participate in this meeting. Diamond has many advantages as the ultimate semiconductor material. Next, Moresuperhard will take you to review the wonderful discussions at this conference.

Research on "Single Crystal Diamond Faceted Silicon Wafer"

Diamond is the ultimate semiconductor and ideal heat sink. It is expected to be used in the manufacture of transistors, power devices, wave transmitters and other equipment, and is widely used in computers, communications, artificial intelligence, automobiles and other fields. However, these devices require the support of single-crystal diamond chips, and DF has only recently produced 4-inch samples. Making such chips requires expensive processes and complex processes. In order to solve this problem, Dr. Song Jianmin proposed to use cheap silicon chips as support. These silicon chips have been around for decades and have Moore's Law interconnection circuits. It is expected to reduce the production cost and improve the production efficiency of single crystal diamond chips, and provide diamond with the advantage of semiconductors. Industry applications provide better prospects.

"Design and Control of Thermal Conductivity of Diamond and Its Composite Materials"

Professor Zhu Jiaqi's report introduced the diamond thermal conductivity design theory and diamond material thermal conductivity testing methods, such as steady-state heat flow method, Raman method, transient heat reflection method, diamond thermal conductivity and interface thermal resistance testing, etc. This paper introduces the market demand and development bottlenecks of thermal interface materials, the advantages and challenges of diamond as a thermal conductive filler, and summarizes the performance of thermal management materials. In addition, Professor Zhu also discussed the preparation and performance characterization of diamond/metal matrix composite materials, summarized the latest progress in diamond near-junction heat dissipation technology, and looked forward to the future development trends in this field.

"Diamonds are shaping the transformation in automotive and renewable energy"

Diamonds are leading changes in the automotive and renewable energy sectors. In the automotive industry, friction pads use diamond-coated microfleece cloth to enhance friction. This technology not only improves braking performance, but also reduces fuel consumption and carbon emissions. This diamond-enhanced friction technology could also have applications in the transportation industry and renewable energy. Diamond coating technology brings huge potential to the automotive industry and other industries and is expected to continue to lead transformation in the future.

"Application of diamond in semiconductor electronic devices"

The report introduced the advantages of wide-bandgap semiconductors and the limits of various semiconductors, and then discussed the topics of wide-bandgap semiconductor electronic devices, including device structure, heterostructure, deep energy level issues, semi-insulation, etc. In addition, the doping of diamond semiconductors, diamond diodes and diamond transistors, etc. are introduced in detail. Finally, the content of large-size wafer epitaxy equipment, large-size high-precision polishing, stress and defect control, efficient controllable doping technology, optoelectronic and electronic device design and manufacturing processes, and device prototypes and applications are summarized.

Research on "Diamond Laser Processing"

Academician Jiang Shibin shared the research on "Diamond Laser Processing". He explores the interaction between laser and diamond and the effect of different laser pulses on diamond cutting quality. The current situation of diamond laser cutting equipment is introduced. Through experiments and data analysis, it was found that the interaction between laser and diamond is complex and specific, and different laser pulses such as long nanosecond, short nanosecond and picosecond also have a significant impact on the quality of diamond cutting. His research results are of great significance for improving the cutting quality and application range of diamond.

"Related Applications of Diamond in the Semiconductor Industry Chain"

The report explains the related applications of diamond in the semiconductor industry chain and its market size forecast. The semiconductor value chain includes front-end investigation, design, manufacturing and application, among which diamond is widely used. Applications of high temperature and high pressure diamond include CVD diamond heat sinks for X-ray inspection tools, high-end silicon chip CVD diamond heat sinks, high-power radio frequency amplifier CVD diamond heat sinks, etc.

"High-efficiency and low-damage polishing technology and equipment for diamond wafers"

The report introduces the material removal mechanism of diamond polishing, tribochemical polishing technology, chemical mechanical polishing technology, chemical mechanical polishing equipment, etc. Graphitization and oxidation of diamond are the main mechanisms for high-efficiency and low-damage removal. Tribochemical polishing and chemical-mechanical polishing are the main trends in the future planarization of large-size diamond wafers with high efficiency, low damage, and low cost. Special precision processing equipment must be developed.

"Quantum sensing technology and its application based on diamond nitrogen vacancy color center"

The report "Quantum Sensing Technology and Applications Based on Diamond Nitrogen-Vacancy Color Center" introduces quantum sensing and its applications based on diamond NV color center, and the industrialization of diamond quantum sensors. This technology has room temperature, easy integration, It has the advantages of small size, no need for low temperature or vacuum, and no need for active electronic devices such as amplifiers, which reduces the impact of noise and has great potential for sensitivity improvement. The working frequency band can be adjusted by applying an external magnetic field, and it has measurement capabilities from DC to GHz.

"Elasto-plastic deformation of diamond single crystal"

The report describes the elastic and plastic deformation of diamond single crystals. Research shows that thin diamond plates can bend under a stress of 2 GPa without breaking. Under temperature gradients, diamond may undergo plastic deformation under quasi-hydrostatic compression conditions. The cause of plastic deformation of natural diamond may not only be mechanical impact, but also the influence of temperature gradient. In addition, there are no large metallic inclusions in natural diamond crystals, which may be related to the release of inclusions under non-metallic crystallization media and temperature gradients.

Looking to the future, Moresuperhard look forward to China's diamond semiconductor technology exerting greater influence on a global scale and making more contributions to scientific and technological progress.