Element Six wins U.S. Department of Defense UWBGS program

Element Six (E6) is leading a program under UWBGS (Ultra-Wide BandGap Semiconductors), an initiative established by the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to enable the next generation of semiconductor technologies. 

OXFORD, England, Sept. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Through the UWBGS program, DARPA's Microsystems Technology Office has stated its goal to develop high-quality ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) materials, such as substrates, device layers, and junctions. These materials are key to realizing advanced electronics, including high-power RF switches, amplifiers for radar and communications, high-voltage power switches, high-temperature electronics for extreme environments, and deep ultraviolet (UV) LEDs and lasers, underpinning a multi-billion dollar system market.

Diamond offers the potential for superlative semiconductor device performance, lowering overall size, weight and power consumption (SWaP) thanks to outstanding properties such as its chemical and radiation inertness, high carrier mobility, superlative heat conduction, and wide electronic bandgap.

E6's contribution to the UWBGS programme will harness the company's expertise in large area CVD polycrystalline diamond and high-quality single crystal (SC) diamond synthesis, to realize 4-inch device grade SC diamond substrates.

Prof. Daniel Twitchen, Chief Technologist at Element Six, said:

"We are proud to work alongside the other DARPA UWBGS program partners. Industrial diamond has disrupted multiple markets since its first scale synthesis in the 1950s, and I am confident that technology breakthroughs in UWBGS will help unlock another 70 years of positive disruption in the semiconductor industry."

Element Six's SC diamond was already a crucial enabler in the CERN Large Hadron Collider's monitoring systems, helping lead to the discovery of the Higgs Boson Particle and, in partnership with high-power semiconductor leader ABB, E6 realized the first high-voltage bulk diamond-based Schottky diodes. Furthermore, E6 recently completed build and commission of an advanced CVD facility leveraging its core technology in Portland (OR), powered by renewable energy sources.

E6 polycrystalline diamond wafers measuring >4 inches are already enabling telecommunication infrastructures and defence applications, being used as either optical windows in EUV lithography for state-of-the-art silicon (Si) chips, or in thermal management applications for high-power density Si and gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor devices. 

For the UWBGS program, Element Six has partnered with other leaders in the field from across the globe: Orbray in Japan (with diamond heteroepitaxy expertise – full partnership announcement available here), Raytheon (leaders in GaN RF devices), Hiqute Diamond in France (with dislocation engineering expertise), and Stanford and Princeton Universities in the US (with materials bulk and surface processing characterization expertise).

Through the collaboration of this global network of technology leaders, UWBGS will push the boundaries of diamond innovation to enable a new generation of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors.

Element Six

Element Six, part of the De Beers Group, is a world-leader in the design, development and production of synthetic diamond advanced material solutions. The company operates worldwide with primary manufacturing facilities in US, UK, Ireland, Germany, and South Africa.

For over seventy years, Element Six has harnessed the extreme properties of synthetic diamond to open up new possibilities in areas such as photonics, acoustics, power transmission, water treatment, thermal management and sensors. The company's advanced material solutions are used in a wide range of applications across multiple industries including manufacturing in the automotive and consumer electronics industries, cutting and drilling in the oil and gas industry, and in components for mining, road, construction and agriculture applications.

About DARPA

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use in defense applications. For sixty years, DARPA has held to a singular and enduring mission: to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security. The ultimate results have included not only game-changing military capabilities such as precision weapons and stealth technology, but also such icons of modern civilian society such as the Internet, automated voice recognition and language translation, and Global Positioning System receivers small enough to embed in myriad consumer devices.

SOURCE Element Six