SBIR Phase I: Manufacturing of gallium nitride (GaN) membranes for efficient thermal management

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段的广泛影响旨在为包括电力电子、射频器件和光电子等众多应用的半导体生产提供氮化镓（GaN）膜。提出的技术旨在缓解当前基于GaN的制造技术中的两个主要问题：热管理和昂贵的晶圆材料成本-通过从母晶圆上剥离GaN膜并将其集成到散热器上。将薄膜氮化镓集成到散热器衬底上可以有效地散热，从而解决氮化镓器件固有的热管理问题。该技术的商业化可以通过多次重复使用昂贵的母基板来降低gan基器件的生产成本，同时保持材料质量。氮化镓技术已广泛应用于医疗保健和国防、5G网络、清洁能源应用、电动汽车、电源逆变器和移动设备充电器等各个领域。本项目提出采用两种独特的技术：远程外延和二维层转移（2DLT）来制造高质量的、独立的集成在散热器上的GaN膜。远程外延和2DLT技术利用插入在衬底和脱膜之间的2D材料来生长和剥离GaN薄膜。远程外延和2DLT工艺的结合允许生产高质量的GaN膜，并多次重复使用昂贵的GaN衬底。所提出的技术的可行性将通过测量GaN和散热器界面的时域热反射（TDTR）技术来证实。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I seeks to provide gallium nitride (GaN) membranes for the production of semiconductors for numerous applications including power electronics, radio frequency devices, and optoelectronics, etc. The prooposed technology seeks to alleviate two major problems in the current GaN-based manufacturing technology: thermal management and expensive wafer material costs - by peeling off the GaN membrane from the parent wafer and integrating it on the heat sink. Integration of thin-film GaN on a heat-sink substrate may solve the intrinsic thermal management issues of GaN-based devices by efficiently dissipating the heat. Commercialization of proposed technology could decrease production costs of GaN-based devices by reusing the expensive parent substrate multiple times while maintain the material quality. Gallium nitride-based technologies have been widely adapted in various fields including healthcare and defense, 5G networks, clean energy applications, electrical vehicles, power inverters and mobile device chargers, etc. This project proposes to manufacture the high-quality, free-standing GaN membranes integrated on heat sinks by using two unique technologies: remote epitaxy and 2-dimensional layer transfer (2DLT). Remote epitaxy and 2DLT technologies utilize 2D materials inserted between the substrate and epilayer for the growth and lift-off of GaN thin-film. Combination of remote epitaxy and 2DLT processes allow for the production of high-quality GaN membranes with multiple reuses of costly GaN substrates. Feasibility of proposed technology will be confirmed via time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) techniques by measuring the GaN and heat sink interface.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.