The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s development of a high-performance diamond semiconductor device represents a significant step towards meeting the growing electricity demand and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This breakthrough in diamond technology offers higher voltage capacity and lower leakage current, outperforming traditional silicon-based semiconductors. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
Researchers have developed a semiconductor device made of diamond, offering a promising solution for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This device boasts the highest breakdown voltage and lowest leakage current compared to existing diamond devices, marking a significant advancement in the electrification process.
To reach the world’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, there must be a fundamental change in electronic materials to create a more reliable and resilient electricity grid. A diamond might be a girl’s best friend, but it might also be the solution needed to sustain the electrification of society needed to reach carbon neutrality in the next 30 years. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a semiconductor device made using diamond, that has the highest breakdown voltage and lowest leakage current compared to previously reported diamond devices. Such a device will enable more efficient technologies needed as the world transitions to renewable energies.
The Rising Demand for Electricity
It is estimated that currently, 50% of the world’s electricity is controlled by power devices, and in less than a decade, it is expected that that number will increase to 80%, while simultaneously, the demand for electricity will increase by 50% by 2050.
According to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “Perhaps the single greatest technological danger to a successful energy transition is the risk that the nation fails to site, modernize, and build out the electrical grid. Without increased transmission capacity, renewables deployment would be delayed, and the net result could be at least a temporary increase in fossil fuel emissions, preventing the nation from achieving its emission reduction goals.”
Diamond semiconductor device (4 mm x 4 mm in size). Credit: The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
“To meet those electricity demands and modernize the electrical grid, it’s very important that we move away from conventional materials, like silicon, to the new materials that we are seeing being adopted today like silicon carbide and the next generation of SciTechDaily