“All our diamond production is in Austin, Texas, and all our equipment is manufactured in Austin, Texas.”

Bill Holber (00:16):
I am Bill Holber. I’m the president and CTO of Plasmability.

Bob Basnett (00:21):
Bob Basnett I’m the CEO of Plasmability

Bill Holber (00:25):
Plasmability is a grower of high quality CVD Diamond. All our diamond production is in Austin, Texas, and all our equipment is manufactured in Austin, Texas. Our interest right now is developing equipment in particular, but material also for different applications.

Liz Chatelain (00:46):
How did you come to even enter the business?

Bill Holber (00:49):
Many, many years ago, Bob and I worked together at a different company in the semiconductor industry.

Liz Chatelain (00:55):
A lot to talk about semiconductors and the incorporation of lab grown diamond.

Bob Basnett (01:00):
Well, I think there’s a lot of activity currently underway to try and bring diamond’s unique properties, amazing properties, to fruition within the semiconductor space. I think there’s several different paths that are being worked on. You know, everything from heat spreading applications to actual use as diamond for a device within the semiconductor space.

Liz Chatelain (01:26):
Where do you see the low hanging fruit?

Bob Basnett (01:28):
There’s some very interesting applications in the medical space. Again, diamond is very biocompatible so it can be implanted within the body.

Bill Holber (01:40):
Diamond, as you know, has a number of unique properties, some of which are well known. It’s very hard. It has very good thermal conductivity, but it’s also a very robust material with respect to wear in a demanding environment. And we have customers and potential customers in that space as well.

Liz Chatelain (02:03):
What industries you think are the most interested?

Bill Holber (02:06):
The nearest term scaled applications are likely to be in that, we call it packaging, or you could call it heat spreader applications.

Liz Chatelain (02:16):
In the consortium. As you know, we’re trying to develop the supply chain. How do you see this ecosystem developing and where do you think the holdups are?

Bill Holber (02:27):
Having this ecosystem, not of competitors, that’s always a problem, but an ecosystem where it’s a supply, a classic supply chain. I think that needs development work.

Liz Chatelain (02:39):
What will the consumers see on the market that has diamond in it, whether they know it or not?

Bob Basnett (02:44):
Integration of diamond into high power electrical or electronic devices that may be utilized in things like inverters for batteries in cars.

Bill Holber (02:58):
There’ll be some electronics with diamond in them within five years in the consumer market. The likely first applications are those, of course, at the highest value. Those tend to be things that fly, whether it’s satellites or planes or whatever.

Liz Chatelain (03:15):
What would you say to other companies like yourselves about joining the consortium?

Bill Holber (03:20):
Well, personally, as you know, I went to one of the first trade shows that you had hosted. It’s a way to expand the view a bit and see who else is out there, either as a customer, a supplier, or competitor.

Bob Basnett (03:38):
It reminds me a lot of the early days of the semiconductor industry. Sometimes things are competitive, but oftentimes you find that people that even if they have a competitive position to what you’re doing, they can, you know, add value to each other’s businesses. Everything’s not about competition. It’s about, you know, growing an industry.