Northrop Grumman is pushing into the next generation of military microelectronics by powering them with an unlikely material: lab-grown diamonds smaller than a grain of sand.
The work is taking place at one of the company’s semiconductor facilities, where engineers are testing diamond-based materials for use in receiver-protection components.
According to Northrop, early trials have already produced a device capable of handling more than 100 watts.
That is reportedly double the typical wattage of comparable devices on the market today, pointing to potential applications in critical military systems such as radars and radio-frequency electronics.
Diamond’s extreme heat resistance and conductivity could help such systems withstand power spikes while maintaining clear signal transmission.
That durability may also allow receiver-protection devices to better shield sensitive assets from even greater damage, compared to commonly used silicon and gallium nitride alternatives.
Northrop said that while further testing is still needed before diamonds can be considered ready for operational use, early results suggest the material “greatly surpassing the capabilities of the competing, more conventional solutions in use today.”
“Significant force would be required to damage it, making it ideal for the most advanced military missions,” said Dr. Ugonna Ohiri, staff systems engineer at Northrop Grumman’s Microelectronic Center.
Designed for Longevity
Northrop’s research and development team began exploring diamond-based technologies in 2019, with Ohiri describing diamonds as an “everlasting material.”
The company’s diamond-based chips currently measure to 1 millimeter in length and are said to be capable of powering space missions and airborne platforms.
Beyond performance gains, Northrop said the tiny footprint of the chips could enable further system miniaturization, allowing military platforms to pack more capability into smaller form factors.
In partnership with Arizona State University’s Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub, engineers and physicists are now working to scale the tech to larger formats.
“The sky isn’t the limit — the universe is,” Ohiri stressed. “Diamond’s vast potential as a material is undeniable, and we’re moving ever closer to taking it from design and development to full scale deployment.”
