A research team from Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) using independently-developed technologies recently achieved mass production of 2-inch epitaxial single crystal diamond substrates with self-supported structures.

As a representative of third-generation semiconductor materials, diamond semiconductors are also known as the ultimate semiconductors. The team is the first in China to achieve mass production of 2-inch single crystal diamond. The semiconductor's performance indicators have surpassed any of those produced abroad. The single crystal diamond materials are widely used in China's 5G communication, providing technical support for high-frequency and high-power detection enterprises.

Ten years ago, domestic research on diamond semiconductors were almost nonexistent. It was at this time that professor Wang Hongxing, who returned home after studying abroad, established the Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials and Devices Research Center at XJTU.

Diamond semiconductors can overcome the problems of "self-heating" and "avalanche breakdown" in existing semiconductors. The key technologies to be developed were the preparation technology for large-size single crystal diamond substrates and the preparation technology of high-quality diamond substrates.

After ten years of research, the research center has developed a series of technologies with independent intellectual property rights, including diamond semiconductor equipment, and has obtained 48 authorized patents. With the support of the Qinchuangyuan innovation driving platform, industrialization of 2-inch diamond has finally been achieved.