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

小企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段的更广泛影响是为生产半导体提供氮化镓(GaN)膜，这些应用包括电力电子、射频设备和光电子等。该技术旨在缓解当前基于GaN的制造技术中的两大问题：热管理和昂贵的晶片材料成本-通过从母片上剥离GaN膜并将其集成在散热片上。在散热片衬底上集成GaN薄膜可以通过有效地散热来解决GaN基器件固有的热管理问题。该技术的商业化可以在保持材料质量的同时，通过多次重复使用昂贵的母衬底来降低GaN基器件的生产成本。基于氮化镓的技术已经被广泛应用于医疗和国防、5G网络、清洁能源应用、电动汽车、功率逆变器和移动设备充电器等各个领域。本项目提出使用两种独特的技术：远程外延和二维层转移(2DLT)来制造集成在散热器上的高质量、独立的GaN薄膜。远程外延和2DLT技术利用插入在衬底和外延层之间的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薄膜，并多次重复使用昂贵的GaN衬底。建议技术的可行性将通过时间域热反射(TDTR)技术通过测量GaN和散热器界面来确认。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已通过使用基金会的智力优势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.