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As more funding flows into abstruse technical school to speak difficult global problems like climate change , PhD enterpriser coming out of Europe ’s top universities and laboratory are more and more turn their inquiry into companies .
Gallic spinoutDiamfab , founded in 2019 , is one model . Its co - father , CEO Gauthier Chicot and CTO Khaled Driche , both PhDs in nanoelectronics and recognise researchers in the playing field of semiconducting rhomb , left Institut Néel , a research lab of the French National Center for Scientific Research ( CNRS ) , with two license patents under their belt .
Since then , Chicot and Driche have register more patents and brought on a third atomic number 27 - founder , Ivan Llaurado , as their chief tax revenue officer and partnership music director . They also raised an € 8.7 million rhythm of support fromAsterion Ventures , Bpifrance’sFrench Tech Seedfund , Kreaxi , Better Angle , Hello Tomorrowand Grenoble Alpes Métropole .
This interest comes because the prototype around semiconducting infield has changed in the last two years . “ diamond are no longer a laboratory topic : They have become an industrial realism , with startup , with manufacturers concerned in this playing field and with the partners we have around us , ” Chicot told TechCrunch .
Getting out of the lab
Silicon is still the most widely used semiconductor unit material in electronics because it ’s ubiquitous and cheap . But there ’s hope other option could someday outperform it , and not just in labs . Tesla ’s decision to use silicon carbide instead of silicon was an of import dance step in that direction , and ball field could be next .
Because rhombus is of course more repellent to high temperatures and more energy - effective , Diamfab envisions a time to come in which a given component will demand a much smaller surface of synthetical diamond than of silicon carbide , which will make it competitive on price .
The firm ’s long - term goal is to make more efficient semiconductor with a low atomic number 6 footprint , while also patronise what Chicot refers to as “ the electrification of society , ” starting with deportation .
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Diamond - based electronics launch the doorway to app in the field of power electronics — think of smaller stamp battery and chargers with more autonomy , because less temperature mastery is required , which is particularly relevant for the automotive sphere and electrical mobility . But diamond wafers could also be leverage for atomic assault and battery , space tech and quantum computing , too .
The eccentric for rhombus as a good choice to Si does n’t come up out of nowhere ; Diamfab is construct on the Institut Néel ’s 30 years of R&D into synthetic rhomb growth . Its founders wanted to take this engineering out of the lab . “ We wanted to be utile innovator , ” Chicot said .
Being awarded the Jury ’s Grand Prize of i - research laboratory in 2019 was a turning point for the firm . conscientious objector - organized by French institutions , it bring in Grant and a sensation of validation that help the squad inwards and outwards .
With this seal of approval , “ banks trust you even if you do n’t engender any sales , ” Chicot say . “ It was a real plus in the commencement to get this award . And it was part because we have great technology , and partly because it ’s engineering that ’s important for the world . ”
Diamond promises
French public sector investment bank Bpifrance , one of the organizers of the i - Lab awards , is doubling down on Diamfab with support from the French Tech Seed investment firm , which Bpifrance manages on behalf of the French government as part of the France 2030 plan .
When silicon has become a trade good , Diamfab ’s high - time value - added ball field wafers could be made in Europe and sold at a exchange premium warranted by their higher efficiency , which also tie into the green conversion . Decarbonization is one key goalof France 2030 , and baseball field could help .
Their atomic number 6 footprint would be lighter because of the smaller surface that diamond requires compared to Si carbide , but also because Diamfab synthetizes its diamonds from methane . In the future , this source could be biomethane , give a commercial-grade outlet to this byproduct of recycling .
Most of this , however , is still in the future . Diamfab is not decades off from its goals , but says it will need five years for its applied science to be able to support the mass output of diamond wafers that match industry demand . This means taking its know - how in growing and doping diamond layers on one - in wafer , and apply it to the four - inch wafers that silicon carbide already works on . Even with enough financial support to back a small archetype production line , this will take a few long time .
This five - yr horizon made Diamfab a no - go for some VCs ; while these may be sympathetic to the thought of reindustrializing Europe with cut - edge innovation , their liquidity cycles make these types of investments more difficult . But Chicot ultimately managed to flesh out up the € 8.7 million that will help the inauguration go through its pre - industrialization phase angle .
Grenoble, a deep tech hub
The grouping of investors that have rally around Diamfab is “ balanced , ” Chicot said , admit public players , evergreen plant fund Asterion Ventures , and admirer of Diamfab ’s region , Auvergne - Rhône - Alpes , and its city of Grenoble .
While there ’s warrant hoopla aroundAI in Paris , Grenoble may be the closest to a French Silicon Valley . In no little part thanks to Nobel Prize - succeed physicistLouis Néel , the Alpine city’sfocus on electronicsturned it into adeep tech hubthat ’s now also part of the conversation on both fleeceable technical school and sovereign technical school .
Grenoble startups that pop to psyche include Verkor , which securedmore than € 2 billionfor its gigafactory in Northern France , and Renaissance Fusion , which raised $ 16.4 million last class tobuild atomic unification engineering science in Europe . But Diamfab may benefit more from its partnership with larger players with local ties , including CEA , Schneider Electric , Soitec and STMicroelectronics .
There ’s no doubt that more semiconductors will come out of the French Alps . As both the EU and the U.S. adoptedChip Actsto reduce their dependance in Asia , France is set to provide€2.9 billion in aidfor the forthcoming joint factory of STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries , and Soitec recentlyopened a fourth factorynearby . Now Diamfab hopes it can roleplay a part , too , and unleash the full potential of rhombus in semiconductors .
