Manufacturing Synthetic Diamonds

[Homestar]

As I was surfing the web, looking for facts for a history report I was working on,
somehow one of the links google listed was titled "How to make diamonds in your microwave.".
Obviously I knew this was a hoax, but it struck a little intrest in the subject of how diamonds are made.

I found this really cool online article from a technology magazine named WIRED titled The New Diamond Age
It's a really neat article on some of the processes used to make synthetic Diamonds, and their possible uses.
The biggest of the two that I thought were interesting (in the later part of the article) it talked about
adding negatively charged boron to diamonds, making the world's best semi conductor. Possibly
being a breakthrough technology in making an intel diamond chip with much more computing
power than any of today's silicon ones. The other was perfecting lazer optics making a better lazer.

I also found a video that has some of the basic info that was also in the 6 page article in Wired,
but in a much shorter format (and none of the 'storyline'). The first minute is a little stupid,
but the last two give a good breif summary.

Anyway, something that struck me as very interesting. What potential do you guys think these 'diamond chips'
have if they could be manufactured for 2-4 times that of a silicon one?

[threefingeredguy]

You've never heard of Wired before?
Laser is an acronym so spelling it with a z sort of defeats the purpose of the name.
Sure, it could be cool.

[Dwedit]

Remember that Diamonds are not rare or valuable at all, they are just an artificial monopoly that exists only to make DeBeers filthy rich.

[King Harold]

Anyway, he asked whether we think diamond chips have potential, and I'm sure they do but they'd be a 1000 times more expensive then old boring silicon chips.
BUT, the silicon layer has to be around 7 atoms thick to work, maybe diamond can beat that, if so chips could be made very small or very fast. Also diamond is supposed to be a better heat conductor then silicon, allowing more compact chips or ofcourse some extra transistors.
So in theory it would be great, but im not sure whether many people would pay 1000 times the regular price for chips just because they're 10 times as fast. (some would)

[crzyrbl]

Have any of you tried to make the diamonds yet?

[Arcane WIzard]

No my microwave plasma tool is in the shops for repairs.

Apparently they're not to be used for drying wet dogs.

[King Harold]

there is NO way a normal microwave is going to be powerfull enough to make a piece of carbon hot enough, not to mention the presure needed.
but i like the idea of using diamond in processors.

[Homestar]

Yes, don't try the microwave thing unless you have a microwave you don't want anymore, a video camera to film it, and the full intentions of posting it for all to see. I just posted it as a funny hoax I found on the internet. not as an information source.

One thing I wondered was how do you "slice a diamond wafer"? Isn't diamond the strongest known compound out there? What blade do you use to cut it?

[Arcane WIzard]

A microwave plasma tool at the Naval Research Lab, used to create diamonds for high-temperature semiconductor experiments.

As I was saying, mine is in the shops for repairs.

One thing I wondered was how do you "slice a diamond wafer"? Isn't diamond the strongest known compound out there? What blade do you use to cut it?

Diamonds.

[crzyrbl]

maybe a laser?

[King Harold]

Well, since you're making the diamond anyway, make it in the right shape rightaway..

[Spencer]

Diamonds aren't so great. One tap of a hammer on your wife's ring in just the right spot, you'll shatter it.

[CompWiz]

say, you aren't speaking from experience are you?

[Shadow Phoenix]

say, you aren't speaking from experience are you?

He IS on the forums... so maybe thats a reason...

[KermMartian]

Heh, I love how that fake recipe has you cover the charcoal in peanut butter. 'Cause we all know that's a key component in creating diamonds.