The 2-inch single-crystal diamond. [Photo/Cailian News]

A research team led by Zou Guangtian at Jilin University has achieved a breakthrough in the production of large-sized single-crystal diamonds, using the team's proprietary step-flow control technique to produce a 2-inch single-crystal diamond, marking a key step toward next-generation semiconductor materials.

The findings were published in the academic journal Functional Diamond, highlighting China's growing capabilities in advanced materials research.

Renowned for its exceptional physical and electrical properties, diamond is widely regarded as the "ultimate semiconductor", with promising applications in power electronics, radio frequency devices, and quantum information technologies.

Zou and his team. [Photo/Cailian News]

Zou and his team have focused on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond research since 2018 at a branch of the State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials. Through sustained efforts, they have achieved several original breakthroughs, including stabilizing single-crystal growth without polycrystalline edges, improving seed crystal stitching through uniform step-flow, and developing laser-based slicing technology to produce high-quality diamond wafers.

As technologies for producing large-sized, high-purity single-crystal diamond continue to mature, diamond is evolving from a "future material" into a core material driving innovation in next-generation information technologies, high-end equipment, and biomedicine, entering a critical phase of industrialization and application expansion.