Beginning next year, the Japanese government will work with industry to produce diamond-based semiconductors for smaller, faster, more versatile computer chips.



Diamond chips could work at temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius while silicon chips cut out at 150 degrees Celsius, according to a scientist at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, which is researching diamond semiconductors.



A higher temperature tolerance allows diamond chips to work at faster speeds and be used in hot environments such as automobile engines.



Diamond chips can also resist higher voltages — up to about 200 volts compared to 20 volts for silicon chips. This would allow for small high-voltage circuits, as presently engineers must use several silicon chips together for high-voltage applications.