{"id":34470,"date":"2023-11-27T18:41:56","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T18:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/27\/ice-ice-baby-raytheon-uses-diamonds-to-keep-radars-cool\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:56:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:56:25","slug":"ice-ice-baby-raytheon-uses-diamonds-to-keep-radars-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/electronic-warfare\/radar\/2023\/11\/27\/ice-ice-baby-raytheon-uses-diamonds-to-keep-radars-cool\/","title":{"rendered":"Ice Ice Baby: Raytheon uses diamonds to keep radars cool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Diamonds may be forever and a girl\u2019s best friend. They may be the centerpieces of crowns and countless heist films. They may even motivate treasure hunters to plumb the icy grave of the RMS Titanic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But can they revolutionize battlefield sensors<\/a>? Raytheon thinks so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company, a division of RTX, said it won $15 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to improve gallium nitride semiconductors utilizing the gemstones. Used in radars, gallium nitride components boost power and sensitivity. Temperature management, though, can prove tricky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To combat overheating, Raytheon is looking to pair lab-grown diamond \u2014 a substance known for its incredibly high thermal conductivity \u2014 with military transistors and circuits<\/a>. The company is collaborating with the Naval Research Laboratory, Stanford University and Diamond Foundry to grow the crystal with a particular pattern, or lattice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur engineers have unlocked a new way to produce gallium nitride, where thermal management is no longer a limiting factor,\u201d Colin Whelan, Raytheon\u2019s president of advanced technology, said in a Nov. 16 statement. \u201cThese new system architectures will result in sensors with enhanced range.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t