BACKGROUND
The rapid growth of power electronics has been driven by increased automation, renewable energy adoption, and the rise of electric and hybrid vehicles, has intensified challenges related to heat dissipation. High-power devices generate substantial heat, which negatively impacts their lifetime, reliability, and efficiency. Traditional thermal management approaches remove heat from the substrate rather than directly from the device layer, limiting performance improvements and adding complexity to system design.
SUMMARY OF TECHNOLOGY
Oklahoma State University researchers developed a novel method to enhance heat extraction from power electronics by depositing ultra-thin (<1um), smooth nanocrystalline diamond films directly onto devices surfaces. Central to this innovation is a unique seeding technique using 6nm detonation nanodiamond powders, enabling uniform and dense nucleation on diverse substrates including silicon, silicon oxide, silicon carbide, and commercial SiC power devices. Combined with microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD), this approach produces conformal diamond coatings that significantly improve thermal conduction to the device layer while simplifying cooling systems architecture. This breakthrough paves the way for improved thermal management in wide bandgap semiconductor devices and has potential applications in biomedical devices, tribology, and sensor technologies.
POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATION
MAIN ADVANTAGES
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT
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