Japanese boffins slice semiconductors from diamonds – with lasers!
Good news: Boffins have finally built room-temperature superconductors. Bad news: You'll need a laser, a diamond anvil, and a lot of pressure
According to Hidai, the process involves using laser light to transform regions of the diamond into amorphous carbon, which has a lower density than the rest of the diamond and is less inclined to crack. Controlling the formation of cracks through the diamond, so that they form along the desired plane, is key to creating a viable wafer. To do this, the researchers used the laser to create a grid-like pattern of crack-prone regions. These regions help to guide the propagation of cracks along the desired path. To remove the slice — or wafer, if you prefer — a tungsten needle is against the side of the diamond until it breaks free.
Hidai and the University of Chiba are far from the only ones looking to harness diamond's dense lattice of carbon atoms to power next-gen computing and communications technologies.with De Beers subsidiary Element Six to develop synthetic diamonds for use in quantum key distribution. The idea there is to engineer defects into the diamond – called color centers – which can absorb photons containing quantum information, then re-emit them.
Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités
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