Tech Revolution: "Largest Diamond Ever on Earth"
January 08, 24
(IDEX Online) - Lab grown pioneer Diamond Foundry (DF) has created a huge diamond wafer with a 10cm (4 inches) diameter.
It describes it as "the world's first single-crystal diamond wafer - and also the largest-sized diamond that ever existed on Earth".
Technology developed by the Silicon Valley startup will open up a new world of supercomputing and electric vehicles.
Diamonds are the best heat conductors on earth. Incorporating them into a new generation of semiconductors will allow computers to run much faster than is possible today.
The diamond wafers will also allow for smaller and more efficient power inverters in electric vehicles.
"By solving the thermal limitations at the very foundation of each of today's most exciting mega tech industries including AI, electric cars, and wireless, the company helps shape the future," said DF.
"Compared with natural resources on Earth, the Cullinan Diamond is the largest rough diamond ever mined on Earth yet with its largest dimension at 5.89cm, it is more than 4cm smaller than DF's diamond."
Diamond Foundry was founded in 2012 and counts Leonardo DiCaprio among its high-profile backers. In November 2022 it bought Augsburg Diamond Technology, also known as Audiatec, which makes diamond wafers for jewelry and manufacturing.
Audiatec, founded in 2015, uses the CVD method (chemical vapor deposition) to synthesize diamond in monocrystalline form on disks with a diameter of up to 100mm. DF has built on the technology Audiatec developed.
Pic courtesy Diamond Foundry shows the 10cm diamond wafer, and the technology used to develop it.