Diamond will be used to cool artificial intelligence chips: 5 times better than copper

Diamond Foundry has produced the world's first 200 mm wafer using single crystal diamond, which conducts heat at least 5 times better than copper. The technology could be used to cool AI chips.

The increasing complexity of artificial intelligence models and the rapidly increasing demand for computing power are pushing the thermal limits of new generation graphics processors (GPUs). While local overheating problems in hardware render traditional cooling solutions inadequate, the semiconductor industry has turned to unconventional materials. Synthetic diamond manufacturer Diamond Foundry aims to eliminate this serious bottleneck in the hardware world with the new generation chip plate it has developed.

200 mm Chipboard and Conductivity Fivefold that of Copper

Diamond Foundry, which synthesizes diamond in a laboratory environment, announced that it has produced the world's first single crystal diamond (SCD) wafer with a diameter of 200 millimeters. The developed wafer exactly matches the standard wafer dimensions that have been adopted in the chip industry for many years. The most obvious advantage offered by the technology is hidden in the extraordinary thermal conductivity level of the material. Technical analysis shows that the heat conduction capacity of diamond is at least five times higher than the copper used in traditional cooling blocks. This structure in single crystal form instantly absorbs the thermal load of the critical hot spots clustered on the silicon surface, making it possible for heat to be distributed much more evenly and quickly on the surface.

Artificial Intelligence Hardware and Integration Before 2030

Effectively evacuating thermal density in processors is vital, especially for artificial intelligence accelerators and high-performance computing architectures. This method, which will prevent frequency drops and performance losses due to temperature increases, has the potential to reduce the huge cooling costs of data centers. Diamond Foundry predicts that 200 mm scale diamond wafers will be integrated into semiconductor production lines and commercial assembly processes before 2030. Thus, the hardware industry will have the opportunity to overcome the cooling barrier based on the physical limits of silicon chips with diamond-supported architectures.