Northrop Grumman is strengthening military radar, communications systems, and satellite links with its new diamond-cooled microchip technological breakthrough.
At its core, the technology embeds diamonds within chips to transfer heat away from radio frequency (RF) circuits more efficiently.
This approach reportedly keeps devices cooler, boosts processing speed, and enables operation at higher power levels without throttling.
The diamond conducts heat five times faster than copper and delivers greater thermal conductivity than silicon carbide and Gallium Nitride (GaN).
“Temperature has long capped what microelectronics can do, even GaN, which is a standard today. Embedding diamond directly into chips works like a turbocharged cooling system,” said Ben Heying, director of microelectronics at Northrop Grumman’s Space Park Foundry.
“This breakthrough lets Northrop Grumman’s diamond-cooled chips push beyond traditional heat limits and unlocks a new generation of fast, reliable RF electronics.”
Backed by $7 Million
The development is backed by a $7-million contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The effort forms part of DARPA’s Phase 2 Technologies for Heat Removal in Electronics at the Device Scale (THREADS) program.
The initiative focuses on integrating diamond-based heat-dissipation technology into next-generation semiconductors for defense applications.
Building on a 3.3-fold power density increase in Phase 1 testing, the company now targets a threefold gain in Phase 2 to deliver more powerful microchips within a compact footprint.
Power density measures how much power a chip can handle within a given physical footprint.
