APPLICATIONS OF MICRON-SCALE PASSIVE DIAMOND LAYERS FOR THE INTEGRATED-CIRCUITS AND MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS INDUSTRIES

The deposition of passive diamond layers of thickness comparable to 1 mu m directly within integrated electronic and optoelectronic circuits and microelectromechanical systems promises to improve their figures of merit, in particular those influenced by heat conduction. This appl ication of diamond poses major challenges for deposition research, yet offers important thermal design advantages over the more common appli cation of thick diamond plates in electronic packages. This manuscript reviews research on using micron-scale passive diamond layers in micr ofabricated circuits and sensors and predicts the impact of these laye rs on temperature fields and figures of merit. The predictions benefit from a review of thermal conductivity and. boundary resistance studie s for micron-scale diamond layers, with a focus on those fabricated us ing temperatures and nucleation methods that promise compatibility wit h VLSI technology. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.