Series: "Japan's Vision to Become a New Resource Superpower Through Process Innovation" — Part 2 ← Previous: [Prologue: Can Japan Become a New Resource Superpower?]
Among experts, there is a material known as the "ultimate semiconductor." That material is the diamond semiconductor.
It possesses physical properties that far surpass today's mainstream silicon and even the latest SiC and GaN (silicon carbide and gallium nitride). Once it can be mass-produced, the basic assumptions behind every electronic device in our daily lives will be rewritten from the ground up.
In this installment, let's look at that impact through three lenses: smartphones, EVs, and quantum computers.
1. Smartphones: The Very Concepts of "Heat" and "Charging" Disappear
The frustrations we all have with today's smartphones — they get hot, the battery doesn't last, the charger is a nuisance — will be solved at a fundamental level.
| Pain Point | Today's Smartphone (Silicon) | Diamond Semiconductor Smartphone |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | The device gets hot during gaming or video recording, causing slowdowns | Thermal conductivity 5× that of copper. The device stays cool and maintains peak performance at all times |
| Battery life | Energy is lost as heat during power conversion | Conversion losses approach virtually zero, dramatically extending usage time |
| Connection speed | 5G brought faster speeds but also higher power consumption | Achieves low power consumption even at the ultra-high frequencies of 6G and beyond |
| Charger | Fast chargers are large and heavy | Extremely high voltage tolerance makes an ultra-fast charger the size of an eraser possible |
Why This Is Revolutionary
The conventional wisdom that "the more powerful the smartphone, the hotter it runs" will simply cease to exist. Eliminate the need for cooling fans and heat-dissipation sheets, and smartphones can become thinner and lighter — or that freed-up space can go toward a bigger battery.
2. EVs: Completely Surpassing the Internal Combustion Engine
Diamond semiconductors become the trump card that solves EVs' two biggest pain points — range and charging time — in one stroke.
| Challenge | Today's EV (Si/SiC) | Diamond Semiconductor EV |
|---|---|---|
| Range | Conversion losses occur when supplying power to the motor | Conversion efficiency is in a different league — range extends by 10–20%+ on the same battery |
| Charging time | Even fast charging takes 30 minutes to an hour | Support for ultra-high voltages (thousands of volts and above) enables a full charge in minutes — on par with filling up a gas tank |
| Component size | A lunchbox-sized inverter is required | Can be miniaturized to fingertip size. More cabin space and a lighter vehicle body |
| Cooling | A water-cooling system is required | Air cooling is sufficient. No coolant or pump needed — essentially maintenance-free |
Jaw-Dropping Specs
Research from Saga University has produced data showing that a diamond semiconductor just one inch (about 2.5 cm) in diameter can control enough electricity to power 300,000 ordinary households. "Enormous power from a tiny chip" — that is the true might of diamond.
Even electrifying long-haul trucks and small aircraft starts to look realistic.
3. Quantum Computers: A "Computer of the Future" That Fits on Your Desk
This is where diamond's true power — known only to those in the know — really shows itself. As it turns out, diamond semiconductors and quantum computers are like siblings: same material, different application.
No Giant Refrigerator Required
Today's quantum computers (such as Google's and IBM's superconducting-type machines) require enormous refrigeration units to cool them to near absolute zero (−273°C), and that requirement has been a major barrier to practical use.
The diamond approach (spin-based method), on the other hand, has some revolutionary characteristics.
- Operates at room temperature: Electrons trapped in a special defect within the diamond crystal called an "NV center" can maintain their quantum state even at room temperature
- Can be miniaturized: Shrinkable down to server size, or even desktop size
In other words, it can transform quantum computers from "something that only exists in specialized research labs" into "something you can put on an office desk or in a data center."
The NV Center: A Magical Flaw
The key lies not in a perfect crystal, but in a deliberately introduced pair of an "impurity (nitrogen)" and a "vacancy." Electrons are trapped in this microscopic structure — called an NV center — and calculations are performed by controlling their spin (rotation).
- Power semiconductors: Diamond is used to conduct electricity efficiently
- Quantum computers: Diamond is used to trap and manipulate electrons
This means that Japan's artificial diamond manufacturing technology — the ability to control impurities at the atomic level — becomes the foundation supporting both applications.
Bonus: Quantum Sensors
Because electrons inside diamond are also highly sensitive to magnetism and temperature, they can serve as ultra-high-precision sensors.
- Medicine: Detecting the faint magnetic fields of the brain and heart to diagnose illness more easily than with an MRI
- Disaster prevention: Detecting minute shifts in the Earth's crust and movements of magma
Conclusion: "Sacrificing Performance for Energy Efficiency" Becomes a Thing of the Past
Once diamond semiconductors become widespread, the grand principle that has governed modern electronics — "you have to sacrifice performance to save energy" — will simply cease to exist.
- Smartphones: Play games at maximum quality and edit video all day without worrying about charging
- EVs: No more waiting to charge; long-haul trucks and aircraft can be electrified too
- Quantum computers: Out of the research lab and into the office
And Japan already holds world-class expertise in artificial diamond synthesis technology. If Japan secures control of this technology, it is tantamount to holding the power to determine the performance ceiling of next-generation hardware.
This means simultaneously seizing dominance in both energy (EVs and power grids) and information processing (quantum) — at the same time. Even if Google or Intel hold the blueprints, if only Japan can produce the underlying diamond wafers, the outcome is already decided.
Coming Up Next
But — naturally, there are very good reasons why "so let's just mass-produce it right away" isn't how this plays out.
The very fact that diamond is the "strongest material in existence" is itself the greatest wall standing in the way of mass production.
In Part 3, we'll look at the three barriers to mass-producing artificial diamond, Japan's concept of "diamond you don't have to machine" that aims to break through them, and some surprising applications beyond semiconductors.
→ Next: [The Barriers to Mass-Producing Artificial Diamond, and Applications Beyond Semiconductors]