IIT Madras to set up factory for manufacturing lab diamonds

IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamakoti while talking to Shiksha.com revealed that the diamond factory to undertake research on lab-grown diamonds is being planned on Discovery campus, which is 25 km away from the current campus. He also talks about the importance of lab-grown diamonds and how they are planning to implement the project. 

The India Centre for Lab Grown Diamonds (InCent-LGD) at IIT Madras has been identified for the project based on its two decades of experience in diamond research.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is planning to set up a diamond factory on its Discovery campus, which is 25 km away from the current campus, wherein research in the field of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) will be undertaken, IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamakoti told Shiksha.com. 

The institute has been selected for the grant of INR 242 crore over a period of five years. The research on LGDs was announced during the Union Budget 2023. The India Centre for Lab Grown Diamonds (InCent-LGD) at IIT Madras has been identified for the project based on its two decades of experience in diamond research. The research will lay emphasis on driving the indigenous manufacturing of LGDs.  

Shiksha.com talked to IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamkoti wherein he talked about the importance of LGDs and how they are planning to implement the project. 

He said, “Lab-grown diamonds are becoming extremely important today. These have very good thermal and electronic properties. These will be used in electronic applications in a very big way, including all 5G/6G technologies that are coming up. Diamonds have much better electrical and thermal properties than the conventional semiconductors and other materials like silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride which are currently used for making chips.” 

He went on to add, “We are setting up a diamond factory on our Discovery Campus, which is around 25 km away from our current campus. We will be buying advanced equipment and everything that is required for the purpose. We will be working on diamond wafers specifically for electronic applications and mainly looking for gem-quality diamonds.” 

Interdisciplinary project  

On being asked whether the institute will be hiring additional manpower for the purpose, Prof Kamakoti said, “It is an interdisciplinary project. A group of 4-5 faculty will be involved in this project. Professor MS Ramachandra Rao from the Department of Physics will be the principal investigator for this initiative. We have to budget the equipment, etc. In one year, we should have a full-fledged roadmap.” 

IIT Madras Director welcomes increased allocation for institute 

The IIT Madras Director welcomed the increased allocation for the institute. He said, “We are very pleased that like every year, the allocation of funds to the institute has been increased. Though the break-up is yet to come, we are happy with whatever has been allocated. We are also given rise in salary on yearly basis. That’s an increment.”  

Lab-grown diamonds (LGD) is a technology and innovation-driven emerging sector with high employment potential. These environment-friendly diamonds have optically and chemically the same properties as natural diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are often addressed as man-made diamonds. These take 15-30 days to create in a laboratory. The only difference between lab-grown diamond and natural diamond is that instead of digging the earth, it is created in a lab under a machine. 

Read more: 

• Budget 2023: IIT Madras to receive INR 242 cr grant for undertaking research on lab grown diamonds
• Budget 2023 delivers boost for lab-grown diamonds, but how are they different from natural diamonds?
• IIT Madras to develop astronaut training module for Indian space flight programs