Lit Thinking taps Cornell for AlN pin diodes
Researchers at Cornell University and Florida-based technology company Lit Thinking are to use aluminium nitride as a transistor material for high power devices.
A team of Cornell researchers from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering will use a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to use aluminium nitride (AlN) as an ultrawide-bandgap semiconductor material.
Achieving ultralow resistance in pin diodes – which help semiconductors handle high voltages and currents – is crucial for improving efficiency and performance. The Cornell-led project will focus on developing aluminium nitride-based pin diodes with extremely low on-state electrical resistance, reducing power loss and heat generation in high-power applications.
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“Because aluminium nitride is normally an excellent electrical insulator, making it conductive holds the key to exploiting its amazing properties” said principal investigator is Debdeep Jena, the David E. Burr Professor in electrical and computer engineering and in materials science and engineering. “In this DARPA program, our interdisciplinary team is investigating several new ideas to unlock the potential of this ultrawide bandgap semiconductor.”
The project will build on research published earlier this year by Jena and Xing, who demonstrated p–n heterojunction diodes through distributed polarization doping to achieve properties that are not possible in standard diodes. Researchers in Germany have also been looking at developing AlN transistors.
“Aluminium nitride semiconductor substrates have also recently enabled the realization of the very first deep ultraviolet diode lasers,” said Schowalter. “This project has the potential to enable similar revolutionary electronic devices in the near future, including cost effective far-UVC optoelectronic sources for safe disinfection of public spaces.”
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