A new type of semiconductor prototyped by DARPA and Raytheon promises to run much cooler than typical chips, a breakthrough that could lead to much better radars for warplanes, drones, and air defense systems. Raytheon is getting $15 million to further develop these extra-cool gallium nitride, or GaN, semiconductors under DARPA’s Technologies for Heat Removal in Electronics at the Device Scale, or THREADS, program. The way we’re trying to achieve that is by integrating some of the world’s best thermal conductors right next to the hotspot in the device,” Matt Tyhach, Raytheon’s mission area director for next-generation sensors and microelectronics, told Defense One ahead of the announcement. The conducting material? Diamond crystals grown onto chips with help from Diamond Foundry and Stanford. Gallium nitride is already a common component in radar systems, helping to maximize the power of the emissions that reflect off incoming threats. In terms of comparing thermal performance, today’s silicon carbine substrates have a conductivity of about 300 Watts per meter-Kelvin. The diamond is 2,000. The work will take place in Raytheon’s gallium nitride foundry in Andover, Massachusetts.