The Change Mariner

81GHz diamond semiconductor created

Geek.com Geek News:

With the recent announcements of hotter than ever processors, semiconductor makers are facing a profound quandry. Customers are demanding more and more performance, which requires smaller and smaller transistors. As the CPU becomes physically smaller, thermal dissipation problems become more pronounced. Even with heat spreaders, dissipating nearly a hundred continuous watts of heat from an area not much larger than one square centimeter is a vexing problem that's only getting worse. Chip manufacturers are casting about, looking for anything that might stave off turning their silicon masterpieces into molten goop.

Enter diamond semiconductors. Diamond? Yes, diamond, the hardest substance known to man. Diamond possesses some very useful properties, not the least of which is its superb ability to conduct heat, its high breakdown voltage, and its high carrier mobility. While silicon begins to show severe signs of thermal stress around 100°C, diamond can withstand several times that without ill effects.

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