Moores law tells us that the number of transistors that can fit on a chip, and therefore the processing power of that chip, doubles every 20 months or so – and this prediction has been remarkably accurate. However as processors get faster and faster, they also get hotter and hotter!  For this reason we are fast approaching the theoretical limits of Silicon as a material for chip production. In fact, some predict that CPUs will only be able to continue to grow at their current pace until 2012, at which point new materials must be found.
With this in mind, scientists have been looking to synthetic diamonds as the successor to silicon, and recent advances have brought this several steps closer to reality.
Two key advances have made the diamond CPU more than just a concept. First, the huge strides made in producing synthetic diamonds by companies like Gemesis and Apollo. Using a technique called chemical vapor deposition these producers are able to grow diamonds in wafer form, ideally shaped and sized for processor production. Second, a processor needs to be able to conduct charge in particular ways. A new technique, using Boron to ‘dope’ the diamond wafer has solved this problem effectively.
Of course, there are still barriers to be overcome including the manufacturing difficulties of working with Diamond – one of the hardest substances known to man. However the benefits of this new material are huge. Experimental diamond based transistors from Intel are capable of running over 8 times faster than Silicon models, and it is believed that there is still significant room for improvement!
Look out ladies, soon you might need to be shopping for a sparkly rock too, but with a difference – diamond CPUs are about to become a nerds best friend!

Tim blogs about lab created diamonds and other synthetic gems at www.mylabcreateddiamond.com.

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