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Chinese scientists produce powerful microwave chip for electronic warfare using diamond
- Researchers have created a diamond-based microwave chip that has a 30% higher power density than any other product
- It could make a huge difference in electronic warfare, boosting the performance of weapons, radar and communications
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Stephen Chenin Beijing
High-power microwave weapons, radar and communication devices could get a significant boost in performance after a breakthrough by Chinese researchers in the manufacture of semiconductors. And the secret is diamonds, also known as the “ultimate semiconductor”.
Scientists working for China’s largest electronic warfare weapon supplier said the gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors with a diamond substrate that they have created have achieved a 30 per cent higher power density than any existing product.
Should these diamond-based chips, also known as fourth-generation semiconductors, be widely adopted, they could bolster the PLA’s capabilities in communication bandwidth, radar range and electromagnetic suppression, potentially giving them a decisive edge in electronic warfare, according to the scientists.
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“These new devices have superior performance, including high power, high frequency and ultra-low energy consumption,” said the team led by Wang Yingmin, chief expert of the 46th research institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese academic journal Semiconductor Technology on January 31.
While other nations are still grappling with this technology in the lab, China has already smoothed out the kinks in the production line.
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“A technological breakthrough of growing diamond directly on the GaN has been achieved in the industrial process,” the scientists said.
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