In the continuing thrust to extend Moore's law, silicon is beginning to confront several issues that require innovative materials solutions to increase transistor and interconnect speeds while dealing with the increasing thermal loads of advanced microprocessors. The unsurpassed thermal and mechanical properties of diamond can be profitably exploited to enhance the performance characteristics of silicon based circuits. The discussion focuses primarily on the integration of diamond with silicon for the manufacture of silicon on diamond (SOD) wafers for spreading heat from hot spots in microprocessors. Other interesting property combinations are also presented as food for thought regarding other possible enhancements to silicon device performance. Recent data and prognosis for the future will be presented.