Element Six increases global manufacturing capacity of CVD synthetic diamond by 60%

Ascot, England--While other materials such as cubic boron arsenide may someday compete with diamond in conductive cooling, that day is not close yet -- and no other material has the combination of optical and mechanical properties of diamond. Element Six, which produces synthetic and natural diamond high-tech components, announced at Semicon West 2013 (July 9-11, 2013; San Francisco, CA) that it has expanded its global manufacturing capabilities of microwave chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) synthetic diamond by 60% over last year.

Driven by growth in the company’s optical and semiconductor business areas, Element Six ramped up production capacity to meet demand for thermal-management components such as high-power-resistant synthetic-diamond optical windows (which can range from 71 to 80 mm in diameter) for extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, and CVD diamond thermal heat-spreading material for high-power photonic components. (Another interesting material for heat-spreading, though with a lower thermal conductivity than diamond, is silver-diamond composite.)

Element Six also opened what it terms a "Global Innovation Centre"(GIC) in Harwell, England (near Oxford), this month (July, 2013), where the company says it will rapidly design, manufacture, and test market-ready diamond-based hardware in one location. Element Six is a member of the De Beers Group of Companies, its majority shareholder.

To find out more, see www.e6.com/semiconwest.