Managing Heat with Diamond: the Example of Diamond/GaN HEMTs

Diamond is the ultimate thermal management material. Its high breakdown electric field and thermal conductivity, together with the availability of artificial diamond plates and the possibility of growing this material on non-diamond substrates have fueled research in applications where thermal management is of utmost importance. This is the case of gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). Power amplifiers based on GaN-on-diamond wafers are already commercially available, attesting the potential and feasibility of integrating diamond and power components. This work describes the different approaches that can be used to integrate diamond and GaN in hybrid devices with increased power capability.