Diamond Foundry, a company specialising in lab-grown diamonds, has announced the creation of the world’s first 200mm single-crystal diamond wafer, a development aimed at tackling the growing thermal challenges of increasingly powerful AI chips.
The company said the wafer is made from a high-quality single-crystal piece rather than polycrystalline gem, which allows it to act as an extremely efficient thermal conductor while retaining its electrical insulating properties. According to Diamond Foundry, this should help reduce hotspots, making it an excellent solution for cooling AI chips.
The 200mm single-crystal diamond (SCD) wafer is about the same size that semiconductor fabs use for older processes. The company described the milestone on its website, saying “Single-crystal diamond has entered the wafer-scale era.” It also showed a graph indicating that a D300 SCD wafer, matching the size of wafers used in leading-edge processes, could be possible before 2030.
Diamond Foundry noted that the sample shown remains unpolished, meaning it still needs further processing before it can be used by chipmakers. The company, founded in 2012, acknowledged the work of scientists who have been working on the scaling problem of SCDs since the early 2000s.
“This is one of those milestones that once seemed almost impossible. Hundreds of DF engineers, scientists, and technicians contributed to us getting here. It is the accumulated result of countless experiments, failures, inventions, rebuilt machines, and insights over more than a decade,” said Diamond Foundry CEO Martin Roscheisen. “Stefan and Martin pursued this goal for 25 years. There are very few examples in technology of someone sticking to a really hard scientific challenge with that level of perseverance. They kept going when the prevailing view was that single‑crystal diamond simply could not be made at this scale. Today, the perseverance shows as the first-ever D200mm single‑crystal diamond. And best of all, it makes D300mm predictable as well.”
Diamond Foundry is not the only company exploring lab-grown diamonds for semiconductor cooling. In 2024, Akash Systems secured $18.2 million in CHIPS Act funding to produce gallium nitride fused with synthetic diamond, which it claims will reduce temperatures by 20 degrees Celsius. The De Beers Group, known for its diamond mines in Africa, is also developing a copper-plated diamond composite material aimed at improving cooling efficiency for AI, high-performance computing, and GaN RF devices. Frore Systems, which makes solid-state coolers, is working on diamond-infused water-cooling cold plates for Nvidia’s next-generation AI GPUs.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- AI chip overheating is a growing bottleneck: As AI models grow larger and compute demand increases, chip hotspots can limit performance and reliability. A high-thermal-conductivity material like single-crystal diamond could allow higher power densities and longer chip lifespans.
- Wafer-scale production is a key hurdle: Moving from small lab samples to 200mm wafers that fit existing fab equipment makes the technology commercially viable for chipmakers.
- Multiple competitors are chasing the same goal: The announcement arrives alongside investments from Akash Systems, De Beers, and Frore Systems, signalling that the industry expects diamond-based cooling to become mainstream.
Background
The semiconductor industry has long sought better heat spreaders for high-power chips. Copper, the current standard, conducts heat well but has reached its limits in cutting-edge AI accelerators. Diamond, especially single-crystal diamond, has a thermal conductivity about five times that of copper, but it has been extremely difficult to grow in large, defect-free wafers. Diamond Foundry has been working on the challenge since its founding in 2012, building on earlier research dating to the early 2000s.
Key Perspectives
Diamond Foundry: The company sees the 200mm SCD wafer as a breakthrough that makes single-crystal diamond a practical material for semiconductor cooling, with a path to larger 300mm wafers before 2030.
Akash Systems: The company received CHIPS Act funding in 2024 to combine gallium nitride with synthetic diamond, claiming a 20-degree-C reduction in operating temperatures.
De Beers Group: The mining giant is developing a copper-plated diamond composite for AI, HPC and GaN RF cooling.
Frore Systems: The solid-state cooler maker is developing diamond-infused water-cooling cold plates for Nvidia’s next-generation AI GPUs.
What to Watch
- Polishing and qualification: Diamond Foundry’s wafer remains unpolished; the timeline for producing a polished, chip-ready version will be critical.
- D300 wafer roadmap: Whether the company can deliver a 300mm wafer by 2030 as its graph suggests.
- Adoption by major AI chipmakers: Nvidia, AMD, and other AI GPU makers have not yet committed to diamond-based cooling; their adoption timelines will determine market impact.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 8 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedDiamond Foundry created the world’s first 200mm single-crystal diamond wafer.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Diamond Foundry, a firm focusing on lab-grown diamonds, announced the world’s first 200mm single-crystal diamond (SCD) wafer.”
- SupportedThe wafer is intended to address thermal problems from increasingly powerful AI chips.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “This is part of the effort to manufacture SCD at scale so that it can be used for semiconductor cooling, especially now that increasing power of AI chips has also led to enormous thermal problems.”
- SupportedA 200mm SCD wafer is about the same size as wafers used in older semiconductor processes.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The 200mm SCD is about the same wafer size that semiconductor fabs use for older processes”
- Partly supportedA D300 SCD wafer is predicted before 2030.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The company also showed in a graph that it is now thought possible to create a D300 SCD wafer before 2030”
- Partly supportedDiamond Foundry said the wafer is a high-quality single-crystal piece rather than a polycrystalline gem.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “What makes Diamond Foundry’s 200mm SCD wafer different from other lab-grown diamonds is that it’s created as a high-quality single-crystal piece instead of a polycrystalline gem.”
- Partly supportedDiamond Foundry said the wafer’s properties should reduce hotspots and make it an excellent solution for AI-chip cooling.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “it is what allows diamond to become an extreme efficient thermal conductor while simultaneously retaining its electrical insulating properties — this efficiency should help cut down on hotspots, making SCDs an excellent solution for AI chip cooling.”
- SupportedDiamond Foundry described the milestone on its website with the words “Single-crystal diamond has entered the wafer-scale era.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: “with the company boasting on its website that “Single-crystal diamond has entered the wafer-scale era.””
- Partly supportedDiamond Foundry noted that the sample shown remains unpolished and needs further processing before it can be used by chipmakers.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “However, it should be noted that the sample shown by the company remains unpolished, meaning it still needs to go through some processes to make it suitable for chipmakers.”
- SupportedMartin Roscheisen, identified as Diamond Foundry’s CEO, said hundreds of its engineers, scientists and technicians contributed to the milestone.Latest from Tom's Hardware: ““This is one of those milestones that once seemed almost impossible. Hundreds of DF engineers, scientists, and technicians contributed to us getting here.”
- SupportedThe quoted statement says Stefan and Martin pursued the goal for 25 years and describes their perseverance.Latest from Tom's Hardware: ““Stefan and Martin pursued this goal for 25 years. There are very few examples in technology of someone sticking to a really hard scientific challenge with that level of perseverance.”
- SupportedAkash Systems secured $18.2 million in CHIPS Act funding in 2024 to produce gallium nitride fused with synthetic diamond, which it claims will reduce temperatures by 20 degrees Celsius.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Akash Systems secured $18.2 million in CHIPS Act funding in 2024 to produce Gallium Nitride fused with synthetic diamond, which it claims will reduce temperatures by 20 degrees C.”
- SupportedDe Beers is developing a copper-plated diamond composite intended to improve cooling efficiency for AI, high-performance computing and GaN RF devices.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The De Beers Group, which is known for its diamond mines in Africa, is also building a copper-plated diamond composite material aimed at improving cooling efficiency for AI, high-performance computing, and GaN RF devices.”
