Diamond is the hardest natural material and usually does not conduct electricity. But if you add a few foreign atoms to its crystal lattice, it can become a semiconductor, like silicon in computer chips. The problem was that getting a diamond with stable electronic conductivity had failed: phosphorus, which 'donates' electrons, did not integrate well into the lattice, leaving too few free charge carriers.

A research group grew a diamond by adding three elements at once: boron, hydrogen, and phosphorus. The result was a crystal with several times more free electrons than phosphorus atoms. This means boron and hydrogen help phosphorus release electrons, as if one donor brought two assistants, and all three handed out electric charge. Measurements showed that the electron concentration reached $10^{19}$ per cubic centimeter, and the material's resistivity dropped to 0.249 Ω·cm — already the level of a good conductor.

Such a diamond also glows brightly in the ultraviolet range (270–285 nanometers), with an internal quantum efficiency of 69.4%. Ordinary diamond or diamond with only boron barely glows. This paves the way for diamond-based LEDs and lasers operating in the ultraviolet, as well as powerful, fast electronics that do not overheat.

The researchers did not just add impurities: they found a way to make them work together. Previously, it was thought that phosphorus alone would suffice, but it was 'lazy.' Now, the three elements act in concert, turning diamond from an insulator into a semiconductor with good conductivity. It is like assembling a team where each member amplifies the others.

Such a material could become the basis for transistors operating at high temperatures and voltages, for ultraviolet detectors, and even for quantum devices. And all of this comes from a single crystal grown in one step.