Wide band-gap semiconductor: how good is diamond?

The emergence of diamond thin film technology has provided the spur for research in to new applications of this material including tooling, optics, thermal management and electronics. As a semiconductor, diamond has some attractive properties and also some associated problems. The balance between these benefits and drawbacks will decide where the Electronic Engineer will employ diamond. The sophistication of silicon semiconductor technology in terms of wafer manufacture, device fabrication and system design will undoubtedly ensure its dominant use in microprocessors at the man-machine interface well into the next century. However, the growing research into wide band-gap semiconductors is suggesting that materials, other than silicon, will be exploited in peripheral applications at the machine-environment interface. In that context diamond might be an ideal semiconductor material for high power, igh frequency or high temperature applications