Wide-bandgap semiconductors on substrates that can take the heat.

The research

Gallium nitride, integrated differently

The project is led by Joan Redwing, distinguished professor of materials science and engineering and of electrical engineering at Penn State. Her team will explore new ways to integrate gallium nitride, a wide-bandgap semiconductor material that is more versatile than conventional silicon, and related wide-bandgap and ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors with substrates that offer improved thermal and electrical performance.

These semiconductors can operate at higher voltages, temperatures and power densities than many traditional materials, making them promising for advanced electronics, communications and sensing. Their performance, however, can be limited by the substrates and interfaces on which the semiconductor layers are grown.

The researchers will investigate whether atomically thin interlayers, materials designed to improve how different materials connect and perform together, can help gallium nitride semiconductors integrate more effectively with materials such as diamond and aluminium nitride, relieve stress where the materials meet and reduce defects during semiconductor growth.

The work will combine materials synthesis and characterisation, with the goal of moving beyond conventional approaches for growing crystalline layers. Battalion's programme targets this bottleneck directly, pursuing a step change in semiconductor performance for the most demanding applications, in an area of strategic national and commercial importance where barriers to entry are high.